


Nothing Wrong with Crossdressing

by gloriousrumpoflife



Series: Modern AU [1]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossdressing, Gen, Hak's a little shit, Jaeha is sleeping with one of his roommates can you guess who, Yun's too smart and must be stopped, yun's a tsun and likes getting attention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2018-03-10 06:49:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3280775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloriousrumpoflife/pseuds/gloriousrumpoflife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Ik-Su is gone for the day, an idea comes to Yun's mind.  Sometimes, though, his ideas are a little too successful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nothing Wrong with Crossdressing

**Author's Note:**

> For those who don't know: hakama is the red pants worn by shrine maidens, haori is the white shirt. A miko is a shrine maiden. A shinai is the bamboo sword used in kendo. Also, in Japan, high school/upper secondary school/whatever you want to call it isn’t free. One’s family has to pay if you wish to attend.
> 
> If I have any of the information wrong, feel free to tell me.

The idea itself was innocent enough. He would put on the _hakama_ and the _haori_ , clean up around the shrine for a little while, then return to his normal clothes. Maybe he would get a few more marriage proposals than the daily average, and maybe he would attract more business for Ik-Su. But other than that, the whole ordeal would go over smoothly. Hopefully.

But, of course, one never gets what one wants in life. Somehow, between cleaning up around the shrine dressed up as a _miko_ —with a long-haired wig, just for the sake of authenticity—and flirting with boys and girls alike to attract more business for Ik-Su, Yun had gathered a fanbase. If that is what one could call a new Twitter trend of people taking pictures of him (without his consent, no less!) and posting them with comments ranging from “ _look how cute she is!!_ ” to inappropriate things not worth repeating.

“What a pain…” Yun muttered as he sat himself down on the steps leading to the offering box. As he scrolled through the hashtag, favoriting any decent pictures of him, he thanked the gods, for once, that Ik-Su had yet to catch up with the modern era. If that damn priest had a phone at the moment, he would most assuredly be calling Yun, shouting into the receiver about _how adorable Yun is_ and asking _why doesn’t Yun dress up more often_? And before Yun could express how he really feels about wearing women’s clothes, Ik-Su would be wasting their money on more cute clothes for Yun to wear. Then he would throw that _stupid_ blissful smile and _fawn_ all over Yun, and that would leave Yun with no real choice in the matter, wouldn’t it?

“Idiot,” Yun hissed, both to an imaginary Ik-Su and some idiot tweeting about the cute shrine maiden who he totally wants to date! “Geez, don’t go making assumptions… I wouldn’t even want to if you don’t think about what I like.” Frowning, he flipped his phone closed and set it beside his thigh. No use thinking about unnecessary things.  
Since the streets were empty, Yun figured he probably had some time to put his normal clothes back on before more people came around to take pictures of him as a shrine maiden. The affair could end smoothly. If people complained that the cute shrine maiden was gone, he could just put on a smile and say that she had to go home, or that she will come back another day (which was unlikely). Ik-Su probably—hopefully—wouldn’t find out about Yun’s cross-dressing adventure. Yona would most likely find out, but she wouldn’t force the issue. Maybe. Hak would definitely find out, though, so Yun would have to shut that idiot up before he ruined the entire point of Yun dressing up. If he knew, that annoying Thunder Beast would most certainly make fun of him and go around town, spilling the secret identity of the cute _miko_.

“I have no idea what Yona sees in that asshole.” With a sigh, Yun draped his ponytail over his shoulder. The wig was a remnant of his first year of junior high, when, for whatever reason, someone thought it would be a good idea to have a bunch of thirteen-year-olds produce a play for the school culture festival. It had been a disaster. The only good thing to have come out of it was a long, strawberry blonde wig, which Yun had been forced to wear when the whole class had decided _he_ would be the best choice for a princess, instead of any of the actual girls. Well, they weren’t wrong. But it had been sufficiently embarrassing when Ik-Su had obsessively taken pictures of him the night of the play.

Bygones were bygones, though, and Yun had kept the wig because he looked damn good in it. Plus, it matched his hair perfectly, so why throw away something when it worked so well? A small laugh escaped him as he twisted the wig fibers around his pointer finger, the red ribbon holding the ponytail bobbing with the movement.  
So caught up as he was in his own fun, Yun didn’t notice the small group coming up to him.

“Um, excuse me?” a girl asked, her voice high-pitched, yet soft, maybe nervous.

Without bothering to look in her direction, Yun swept the ponytail off his shoulder with the backs of his fingers. “Yes?” The girl probably wanted a picture of him.

“Can I have a picture with you?”

Right on the mark. Heh, people were so predictable sometimes. See a cute girl, and they can’t help but fawn. “Sorry, but I’m about to—” _go change and go home, can you come back another time_ , was what Yun was going to say, but the words refused to come out in the face of Yona, sixteen-year-old rich girl and Yun’s best friend, smiling innocently while Hak stood behind her, his smirk so devious that Yun doubted he was actually human.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!” Yun shot up, grabbing Yona by the collar and tugging her to him. “I mean, I don’t mind _you_ being here, but why is _Hak_ here?!” He pointed at the mentioned transgressor, who was still smirking, gods damn him.

“Eeeeh? Should we have brought everyone else here, as well?” Hak asked, setting his stupid _shinai_ over his shoulders.

“Shut up, you damn Yankee!” Yun shouted back. He heard Hak mumble something along the lines of not being a damn Yankee, but he ignored him for Yona. She was smiling a bit too happily at Yun, somehow not bothered at all by him still clutching her collar. “Seriously, though, what are you doing here?”

She blinked, that annoying smile remaining on her face. “Oh! Lili saw you and sent me a picture. Wanna see?” Without waiting for an answer, she fished out her phone from the back pocket of her shorts. She unlocked her phone and started scrolling through her messages. Yun, watching her, realized that she had way too many friends if it took her more than ten seconds just to find Lili’s texts. He told her as much, and she quickly replied with an, “I know.” Then she scrolled through Lili’s texts until she came across the aforementioned picture. “Here it is!”

The picture was of Yun sweeping along the walkway leading to the shrine. There was a smile on his lips, illuminating his face with its brilliancy. A light wind was blowing, enticing Yun’s wig and clothes softly west. And the sun shone down like a spotlight narrowly missing its mark, shadowing Yun, yet not stealing his prestige. Lili had colored the picture, tinting it with warm pinks and oranges, as though it were a fond memory.

“Wow…” Yun murmured. “Lili should go into photography, don’t you think?”

“Right?” Yona replied, chipper. “I told her the same thing!”

“Ne, shrine maiden,” Hak interjected.

“Yeah?” Yun replied immediately.

“Don’t you think you should let go of Yona already?” Hak pointed to Yona’s collar, which was still in Yun’s grasp.

“A-ah!” He quickly released her, stumbling back a few steps. “I-I’m so sorry, Yona! I had completely forgotten!”

Before he could bow in apology, she laughed. “It’s okay, Yun! You weren’t hurting me.” Pocketing her phone, she walked over to him, reaching out her hand to pat his head. “Your grip’s gotten stronger, though. You must be training hard!”

Yun smiled down at her. “Really? I-I mean, of course I am! That damn priest keeps me busy, and I can’t stay behind in gym class forever…”

Hak approached them and held his _shinai_ like a cane, resting his weight against the bamboo sword. “Speaking of the priest, why are you dressed up like that?”

“Ah, just for fun,” Yun responded. He pinched the white fabric of the _haori_ , studying the stitches. The outfit was leftover from Ik-Su’s life before adopting Yun, when he had had one or two shrine maidens to help around. He never really talked about those times, so Yun had no idea where those women were or why they left the shrine. But he figured they got fed up with Ik-Su’s clumsiness and quit. Honestly, he just might have done the same thing as them, if Ik-Su didn’t need him so much.

“Nothing else?” Hak questioned.

Yun rubbed his neck with his palm. There was another reason, sure, but it would be a mistake to tell Hak. But Yona was there, her inquisitive, cute eyes pinned on him. He couldn’t lie to her. “I wanted to attract more business. We haven’t been doing too well lately, and…” And he needed money if he wanted to go to high school. He knew he was smart enough to get anywhere he wanted to, but money was another matter entirely. “N-nevermind. Rich people like you two wouldn’t understand.”

Yona and Hak looked at each other. Then they looked back at Yun. Hak left his expression blank, while Yona’s smile grew loving. “And you need money to get into high school, right?”

Yun stared at them. “How the hell do you know that?”

She giggled. “You talked about it last week.”

Oh. Oh, yeah. He did.

“Th-then why bother asking!” Yun retorted, face ablaze. These two were such idiots! Why was he friends with them?!

“Oh, come now, Yun!” Yona protested. “Don’t get so mad.”

“Yeah. Nobody likes a shrine maiden with a temper,” Hak added.

“Shut up! Both of you!” He glared especially at Hak. He regretted that there weren’t any stones nearby. The damn Thunder Beast deserved a rock to the face for his cheekiness.

Ah, but, if he hit Hak, then Yona would get mad. And he didn’t want to see her get upset over, well, _anything_ , really. If he wanted to hurt Hak, then maybe it was best to challenge him to a duel? And then use a lot of underhanded tricks? Then again, if he did that, Hak would be angry, and if he was angry, then Yona might be, too. _Agh!_ That damn Thunder Beast had an impregnable fortress in the form of a cute girl. What a pain.

Yona’s giggling brought Yun back to reality. She placed her hands over his arm, grabbing his sleeve with the softest of touches. “Don’t worry, Yun. We won’t tell anyone your secret. Promise.”

He looked away, doing his best not to show his embarrassment. “Alright…” he mumbled, relaxing into her touch.

Yona leaned towards him and continued, “If you like, we can help you attract business!”

He snapped his head to her. “R-really!?” She nodded. “That’d be great! Thank you!”

She laughed, removing one of her hands from his sleeve to cover her mouth. He ignored how cold his arm suddenly felt. “You’re welcome! Besides, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to dress up as a shrine maiden.”

The image of Yona as a _miko_ popped into Yun’s mind. The bright red of the _hakama_ , clashing with the pure white of the _haori_ , would complement her fair skin well. Her hair, the color of the dawning sky, would entrance, especially if she tied a white ribbon in her tresses. In a way, she might just be a more beautiful _miko_ than Yun could ever hope to be.

“N-no!” Yun protested, pulling his arm from her. “People would be coming to see me as a _miko_ , anyway, so you can just wear a kimono and it’d be fine!”

“Eh, really?” Yona asked, a small pout forming on her lips.

“Really!” Yun retorted. “Back me up, Thunder Beast!”

However, Hak was nowhere to be found. Yun looked at Yona, who simply shrugged. She did not appear to be worried. Somehow, that just made Yun all the more anxious.

“H-Hak!” Yun called out, racing over to the shrine and bouncing over the steps. Knowing Hak, it was unlikely he would be far from Yona. Those two were practically attached at the hip. Hell, according to Jae-ha, the school had to constantly reprimand Hak for skipping his classes to go bother Yona in hers. So the idiot couldn’t have already left the area—his attachment to Yona, his little ward, was too strong to let him leave her alone, even if she was safe with a friend like Yun. It was more likely, then, that he was rummaging around in the shrine. “Hak!” Yun called again, pondering exactly where in the shrine the damn Thunder Beast could be.

“Hak!” Yona called, as well, though she remained on the walkway to the shrine.

Almost immediately, the man in question appeared from the side of the shrine. “Yeah?” he asked. In his arms were various food items, from bags of vegetables to uncooked meats. Resting in his mouth were two slices of bread, and he was holding even more slices of bread in his hand.

“What…what are you doing with those?” Yun dared to ask.

“Ah, I got hungry,” Hak answered. “You have too much food in your house for just you and Ik-Su, anyway, so I picked up some stuff.” ‘Picking up some stuff’ meaning ‘pilfering your food supplies.’

Yun was going to kill him.


	2. Alternatively, You Could Put On Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning before the day of the festival, Jae-ha wakes up to an unnecessary amount of noise, and Yun is just, in general, irritated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s some necessary background for this chapter. Jae-ha went into school administration because Gi-Gan didn’t want him to be a waiter all his life, & he became a school counselor because lol fuck teaching. Since he works at Yona’s school, she refers to him with “-san” because he’s uncomfortable being “sensei” outside of school. Kija is a college student at Jae-ha’s Alma mater. Shinah (backstory to be detailed later) was found & temporarily housed by Yona & Hak, but now he lives with Kija & Jae-ha, the latter of whom (as a counselor with some psychology training & all-around big brother) is steadily working on getting Shinah to develop his speaking skills. I apparently have a lot of feelings for the dragons.

Ever since Jae-ha had doomed himself to living his life through school administration, he had come accept his regrettable sleep schedule. Mondays through Saturdays, he woke up two hours too early so he could eat some semblance of a balanced breakfast for himself, leave meals for his helpless roommates, and make it to work on time. For the first few months of living in the apartment, Jae-ha could, at least, sleep in on Sundays. But then he had made the mistake of bringing in the busybody Kija, who apparently had _no_ sense of beauty rest (not that he really needed it). So, on Sundays, Jae-ha typically found himself rudely awakened by his handsome roommate, with no qualms with using any means necessary. On some rare occasions, in fact, Kija would go so far as to take a sleeping Jae-ha from his bed and leave him under a cold shower.

(To be fair, though, that only ever happened after they had a fight.)

Holidays were no exception for Kija’s early-riser routine. Jae-ha was far from surprised when he woke up on Greenery Day at an agonizing nine o’clock in the morning to the sound of Kija shouting. A peculiar stench drifted through the space between his closed door and the carpeted floor. Burned food, most likely. There was a good reason Jae-ha had banned Kija from even wielding a wooden spoon in the kitchen.

With a groan, Jae-ha rolled over in his bed, burying his face in a pillow. The blankets slipped from his torso, abandoning his back to the cold air of his bedroom. A sharp sting spread across the bare expanse of skin, like scratches too light to scar, but deep enough to draw blood. Grunting, he laid a hand on his back, fingers searching for the source of pain. Sure enough, he found remnants of scratches, the marks of which were probably already a dying pink. There was also a tense muscle in his lower back, where an ache was expanding from the small of his back. Strange. He didn’t remember bringing anyone home last night.

But, if he did, then that might explain what Kija was shouting outside his door.

…Oh. Oh, no. That was not good. Really, _very_ , not good.

Jumping from the bed, Jae-ha grabbed the first pair of underwear he could find (which were on the ground, meaning they were definitely gross, but this was an _emergency_ ) and pulled them on. Throwing the door open, he yelled, “Kija!”

He was pleasantly surprised, however, to not find Kija shouting at some poor stranger. Instead, there were Hak and Yona inside his apartment, the latter failing to make an omelet in the kitchen, the former smirking down at an irate Kija.

But that only brought up more questions. For example, _why the hell were they in his apartment?_

Before he could ask, Kija turned to him. “Good morn—Ack! Jae-ha!” his roommate screamed, his hands rushing to cover his eyes. “Cover yourself! We have guests!!”

Hak stared at Jae-ha, his expression quickly morphing into a snarl. “Oy, Droopy Eyes. What the hell are you thinking?” His fingers dug into the fabric of his sleeves, his lips trembling as he clenched his teeth. Reflexively, Jae-ha hid his crotch behind his hands.

Yona ran in, carrying the frying pan with her, burnt omelet and all. “Jae-ha-san? What’s going on—” Hak clamped his hand over her eyes.

“ _Go put on your clothes_ ,” Hak practically growled.

Jae-ha smiled shakily. “Right—Right away…” He backed into his room and carefully toed the door closed.

 

* * *

The air, tenser than Hak’s shoulders, settled among the trio. Kija mumbled, “I-Is…is he gone…?” But Hak did not answer. Instead, he waited. Watched the door. Wondered if that pervert counselor would jump out again, except completely nude. Knowing Jae-ha, the likelihood wasn’t low. He dared not speak of the changing room incident…

Kija released a frustrated hum. Out of the corner of Hak’s eye, he saw Kija peak between his fingers, checking the surrounding area for his half-naked roommate. To his visible satisfaction, there was no boxer-briefs wearing Jae-ha prancing around, so he lowered his hands from his face. The blush remained, heavy, upon his cheekbones, draping his fair skin and dying on his throat. Hak cocked an eyebrow. Was there something going on he was unaware of?

“You should answer when I ask questions…” Kija muttered. He crossed his arms and glared, albeit weakly, up at Hak.

“I was waiting on my answer, since we have no idea if Droopy Eyes might show up in his birthday suit.”

Kija’s expression jumped into appalment. His hands curled into shaking fists. “H-h-how dare you! Jae-ha-san would do n-n-n-n-nothing of the sort!”

Hak grinned. “Oh? You don’t sound too sure, White Snake.”

For a sliver of a moment, Kija bit at his bottom lip as, somehow, his blush grew darker. “Be quiet, you!” he barked.

Before Hak could retort, a hand much smaller than his gripped his fingers and wrist. A voice, sweeter than any bell, called his name. He looked over at Yona, who was tugging at his hand to remove it from her eyes. He obliged her, if only to see her cute pout.

“Geez, Hak!” she whined, still gripping his hand. “Stop arguing with Kija, we’re his guests! And at least tell me what’s going on before blinding me...” Her pout deepened, and Hak most certainly didn’t regret his actions.

“Ah, sorry, Princess. But it’s nothing for you to worry about,” Hak answered with a small chuckle.

She rose an eyebrow and titled her head. “Ah, then you convinced Jae-ha-san to put on clothes?”

 

* * *

From behind the closed door, Jae-ha couldn’t hear the outside conversation very well. What he could pick up boiled down to Hak and Kija arguing about Jae-ha himself (considered him flattered), soon followed by Yona silencing them with just a word (one of the benefits of being a cute girl). A short pause ensued. Then, the conjoined voices of Hak and Kija babbled and shouted, presumably in the direction of Yona.

“The kids are so noisy in the morning,” Jae-ha remarked with a laugh. Quickly, he changed into a clean pair of boxer briefs and pulled on black skinny jeans. Next was a beige tank top, which he tucked into his pants. Then came the belt, made of grass green leather. He buckled it and, finally, he slid on his shirt, a crop top which slid off his shoulder. It was forest green, decorated by smoky black design. Pulling his hair into a ponytail, he exited the bedroom.

“Am I safe now?” he asked. He was met with silence, a very perturbed Hak and Kija sitting on the couch, and a confused Yona scraping a burnt omelet into the trash.

Well, alright then. This was fine.

“Yona, dear,” Jae-ha said, approaching the girl as she placed the frying pan into the sink.

“Yes?” she replied, smiling widely.

“What’s the reason for yours and Hak’s visit?” he asked, leaning against the refrigerator.

“Ah, we’re here to ask if you wanted to join us.” She fished her phone from the pocket of her sleeveless hoodie and showed him a list of text messages. “Zeno said he was going to Ik-Su’s shrine to help Yun decorate for the festival, so I offered to go with him.” And, of course, wherever Yona went, Hak went, as well. “I thought it’d be a good idea to ask you three, as well.”

Jae-ha nodded. She pocketed her phone. “Sounds fine. I haven’t seen Yun-kun in a while.” He looked over at the stupefied duo on the couch. “Have you asked Kija-kun?”

Yona made a sound of disappointment. “I tried, but he won’t answer, or even look at me. Geez, all this just because I saw you shirtless…”

His jaw dropped just as his guts soared into his throat. Well, he certainly understood why those two were completely silent. “Y-Y-Y-Yona, dear… I…”

She directed her gaze to him, large, adorably innocent eyes staring up at him. Oh, the guilt! He had ruined her! How could she possibly retain her innocence since she had seen a man’s bare chest…! (And bare rest-of-his-body-except-his-crotch.)

“It’s fine,” Yona said, breaking him completely from his musings. “I live with Hak and his family, after all. It’s pretty rare for Han-dea to remember his clothes in the morning, too.” She smiled reassuringly and patted Jae-ha’s arm.

Oh, this poor child. She was already ruined.

“Anyway,” Yona declared. “Do you know where Shinah is? I want to invite him.”

Jae-ha blinked, silently agreeing to sideline the topic of male nudity alongside her. “Now that you mention it, it’s strange that he isn’t out here by now…” Typically, he slept on the couch where Kija and Hak were, and he would watch TV there in the mornings. “Perhaps he’s using Kija’s room to gain some extra sleep.”

She frowned, not convinced. She knew just as well as he did that Shinah was an early riser, much like Kija. “He didn’t run away, did he?”

Jae-ha laughed. “He’s not the type to do that, Yona! He’s probably hiding somewhere in the apartment.” Shinah was, unfortunately, the type to actually do that. Jae-ha could barely keep track of the number of times Shinah had given Kija a near heart attack with his actions. “Say, you know your way around this side of town, correct?” Yona nodded. “Then, could you go buy breakfast for us? You can feel free to use Kija’s money, I’m sure he won’t mind.” He threw her a smile. “I’ll find Shinah and tell him about the invitation while you’re gone.”

“…I guess so,” Yona replied, casting her gaze to the still dumbfounded Hak.

“Don’t worry about him,” Jae-ha interjected, hopping into her line of sight.

She contemplated the suggestion for a bit. Then she assented with a grin. “I’ll be back soon. Please don’t let Hak and Kija start fighting, again.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised. After grabbing Kija’s wallet from the glass table beside the couch, he handed money and the spare apartment keys to Yona, then walked her out. As soon as he was certain she knew where to go, and how to come back, he returned to his apartment.

Deciding there was no point in ruining peace when it was there, he left Hak and Kija to their trance. _Should at least brush my teeth before dealing with them_ , he thought to himself as he entered the bathroom.

But then, there he was. Shinah, a pair of large sunglasses over his eyes, a bowl of cereal in his hands, and a peculiarly fat squirrel on his shoulder.

“…Ah. I was wondering where you were,” Jae-ha said, staring at his other roommate.

Shinah stared back, but it was hard to tell where his gaze went. The door? Jae-ha? Who knew? After several moments too long, Shinah nodded, as though he was finally recognizing Jae-ha’s existence in the bathroom. He turned his attention to the bowl of cereal, turning the sugary bits around again and again with his spoon.

Jae-ha picked his toothbrush from a cup beside the sink. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

“……Noisy,” Shinah eventually answered, nodding his head in the direction of the living room. “…Kija-nii was fighting…”

Sneaking a smile at Shinah’s nickname for Kija, Jae-ha grabbed the tube of toothpaste and applied the goop to the bristles of his toothbrush. “Ah, he certainly gets very noisy whenever Hak’s around. Did it scare you?”

Shinah shook his head. He scooped up a spoonful of the cereal and stuck it in his mouth. Ao the squirrel, meanwhile, scampered down his arm and picked bits of cereal from the milk.

“Do you know why they’re here?” Jae-ha asked as he began to brush his teeth.

Shinah chewed, leaned against the wall, slid down a bit. “Festival… Helping Yun…”

A few seconds and a rinse later, Jae-ha went to sit on the bathtub rim. Ao jumped over to him, sneaking under his fingers. “Ah, and I guess they came to ask for help?” Shinah hummed, then nodded in assent. Jae-ha grinned and scratched Ao’s chin. “I hope you’ll come along.”

Shinah mumbled something along the lines of _I will_.

Jae-ha’s grin grew. “You’re talking more than usual today. That’s good.”

A blush, a striking pink against Shinah’s terribly pale skin, rose, touching the tip of the sunglass boy’s nose and shading his hallowed cheeks. His fingers trembled, shaking for something other than the cold plastic of the cereal bowl. He drew his knees up, trying to hide. Jae-ha forced his grin to remain—stay patient, stay calm, cases like his were tough, apparently—and scooped Ao up in his hand, depositing him upon Shinah’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to push yourself.”

Shinah calmed. Ao rubbed his head against Shinah’s cheek, an action quickly reciprocated. He held out the bowl for Jae-ha, as though in offering.

Jae-ha chuckled. “No, thank you. Yona is bringing breakfast for us.”

Shinah stared at him for a few seconds before dropping his gaze to his knees. “…She’ll get lost.”

“………..Eh?”

“You gave her… the wrong directions…”

A long stretch of silence. Jae-ha stood up. Exited the apartment. Then he ran like a horde of crabs were at his feet and Yona was the only one who could save him.

 

* * *

The day began about as normally as it could. Ik-Su tripped and fell on his way to wake up Yun, and he fell again when Yun kicked him out of his room. Yun made breakfast with a minor amount of incidents (alternatively known as Ik-Su trying to help). He cooked more than was necessary because Zeno was coming within the hour, and he tended to eat _a lot_. Ik-Su set the table and promised to clean the dishes so Yun could spend time with his friend.

“Ne, Yun-kun.” The addressed boy looked up at Ik-Su. “Are you excited for the festival tomorrow?” the priest asked, leaning over his plate of bacon and eggs.

Yun nodded, then signaled with his chopsticks for Ik-Su to move away from his plate. “Yeah. I’ve already made most of the decorations, so all that’s really left is setting up.”

Ik-Su made a noise of both distress and surprise. “Eeeeeehhhh? Why didn’t Yun-kun ask for my help? You shouldn’t have to do so much work alone!”

“You’d just make a mess of everything!” Yun retorted. “And don’t even think of offering to put up the decorations!”

Ik-Su frowned. “I’m not _that_ clumsy…”

Yun clicked his tongue and picked up a few pieces of rice from his bowl. “You are. Besides, if we’re going to attract more attention to the shrine, you have to walk around a lot tomorrow night and talk to people. Conserve your energy.” He brought the bowl to his mouth and shoveled the rice onto his tongue.

A smile, softer than a pillow after a long day, graced Ik-Su’s lips. He picked up his chair and moved it so he could sit beside Yun. “It’s still a lot of work for just one person.” Ik-Su reached up and caressed the base of Yun’s neck, knuckles brushing the tail ends of Yun’s strawberry blonde hair. His fingers found a tense muscle and began to massage away the strain.

Yun leaned into the touch and continued to eat. “I’ll ask Zeno to help me, then.”

“Why not ask the rest of your friends to help? The job will be finished even quicker with them.” Momentarily, Ik-Su left Yun’s neck alone so he could take his plate of food from the other side of the small, rickety table. As soon as a piece of bacon was in Ik-Su’s mouth, Yun picked up his free hand and placed it back where it belonged—on his neck.

“They’d just make more of a mess than you would,” Yun answered, releasing the smallest of hums as Ik-Su returned to the massage.

The breakfast continued, punctuated by purposeless banter between a priest and his adopted son. The food, slowly but surely, dwindled away until only meager crumbs remained. The tense muscle in Yun’s neck relaxed, and Ik-Su kept his promise to clean the dishes. Not a single plate was broken, either! Truly amazing. The peace endured until a series of knocks sounded from the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Yun said.

Standing outside the door was Zeno, his sun-yellow hair blowing with the breeze. Much to Yun’s surprise, he wasn’t alone. Behind Zeno’s left shoulder was a young girl, the red-haired heir to Il’s unpropitious legacy. Beside her, a tall, broad-shouldered, third-year terror popularly known as Hak. Behind Zeno’s right shoulder was a college student with a monstrous hand, his tresses a silk white and his face contorted into a scowl. Presumably, he was in an argument with the green-haired man beside him, who, for whatever gods-forsaken reason, was a school counselor (really, Jae-ha, what _were_ you thinking?). At the back of the pack was a sunglasses-wearing boy, shyly hiding his face behind his pet squirrel.

“…And why, exactly, are you all here?” Yun risked to ask.

“We’re here to help!” Yona volunteered cheerily.

Yun closed the door on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope??? This was better that the last chapter??? I’m a little bothered by how I characterize Yona, but I’m giving myself a bit of leeway since I still haven’t decided if this AU will be as full blown as the manga itself, which focuses on Yona’s growth as she explores her father’s country. Like, there are so many aspects of the original story that don’t fit too well with how I want to imagine this AU. I want this AU (at least when I write it) to just be filled with funny stories & character relationships, & investigating how the characters would be like in a modern setting. Hell, I’m not even completely certain if I want to include the dragon powers… Agh, too much thinking for one author’s note. If you guys have any opinions on what I should do with the dragon powers & Yona’s canon destiny, feel free to tell me.
> 
> Also, this story is still about Yun crossdressing as a shrine maiden, don’t get me wrong. I just wanted to use this chapter to introduce the rest of the characters (though I cut it off before a proper intro for Zeno, haahahahahaaaaaa„„„). Next chapter is going to address everyone else’s reactions to his plan. Chapter 4, hopefully the final chapter, will tie back in with the headcanon that started it all ( http://mcgrillzheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/109502286311/previous-part-of-the-conversation-girafferaven ), so, no worries, Yun’s gonna get chased & he is going to REGRET. And it will be gr8 on all sides.


	3. It's Only an Outfit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ik-Su and Zeno may have a secret alliance, Shinah just wants to be carried nicely, and Yun needs to calm down.

The day, shaped by the whispers of many nights past and forces realized and unrecognized, stretched upon the city, encompassing many lives in the wake of the sun and clouds and winds. People spoke, drank, laughed, cried, sighed burdens from their chests, and, in the case of a fifteen year old genius pretty boy, yelled at a rowdy bunch of friends. It was a lovely morning, and would be a lovelier afternoon, even as expectations were betrayed and temperaments burst.

“Why are all of you here!?” Yun screeched, fighting with his puny strength to close the door. On the other side, and fighting with equally puny strength, was Yona, her eyebrows furrowed in determination.

“I already told you!” Yona shouted back, digging her short nails into the wooden door. “We’re here to help you set up for the festival!”

“Nobody asked for you!”

“Zeno did!”

“Shut up! Traitor!” Yun screamed at a certain,  _treache_ _rous_ , ball of sunshine. Zeno, unfazed, laughed mercilessly at Yun’s plight.

Meanwhile, the four, very strong men stood behind Yona, watching her struggle like it was a tennis match. Obviously, it would take just one of them to help her win or make her lose, but, for whatever gods forsaken reason, they were content to just loiter around. Well, Shinah probably didn’t know what to do, honestly. He had already adopted his usual do-nothing-until-ordered stance—stand around with Ao held gently in his fingers, tucking his chin so he could hide his face behind his glasses and the baseball cap he wore outside.

Shinah was pretty okay, actually. Yun wouldn’t mind letting him stay once he got the rest of the damn hooligans (Zeno included) off his property.

“Leave!” Yun commanded. Yona puffed her cheeks, more out of (cute) frustration than any actual strain. While the sweat was building on Yun’s neck, slipping beneath his clothes and sneaking upon his palms, Yona appeared the same as she did minutes ago, when the door battle had begun. Her breath rate was normal, barely any color tinged her cheeks, and her eyebrows had yet to furrow. Her lipstick, a cherry pink that was a few shades too bright for her tanning skin color, was unscathed, which it wouldn’t be if she was actually putting up any effort, since she tended to bite her lower lip when she exerted herself. Jerk.

Before he could shout at her again—and distract himself from how much stronger she was becoming—the battle was over. Ik-Su arrived behind Yun, his long, uncovered neck stretching over the boy’s head. While Yun was momentarily distracted by the bobbing of Ik-Su’s Adam’s apple, an arm snuck around his waist and a hand clutched the door. Meanwhile, Zeno snuck under Yona’s arms and gripped the door with both his hands. Through the joint effort of Ik-Su, Zeno, and Yona, the door slammed open, and Yun found himself slipping. Luckily, there was no fall, since Ik-Su had already secured him by the waist.

“Be careful, Yun,” Ik-Su chided, more-so cooed, as he stepped aside for the guests to enter. He wrapped his other arm around Yun’s stomach, holding his adopted son close to his bare chest. “We don’t want you getting hurt.” Humming, Ik-Su nuzzled the crown of Yun’s head with his nose.

“Sh-shut up, you damn priest!” Yun responded, digging his nails into the skin of Ik-Su’s arm, careful not to harm the bandaged areas. Laughing, Ik-Su released him. “And you guys!” he shouted to the group of mongrels already removing their outside shoes and finding their pairs of guest slippers. “Go home!”

Hak, with his hand on Yona’s shoulder to keep her steady, looked over at Yun. “We already told the old man we’d be out all day. He’d get suspicious if we returned so early.”

“And it’s a long walk back to the train station,” Kija added as he handed slippers to his two roommates. “It’d be rude to send us all back so soon.”

“Too bad!” Yun pulled his slipper off and threw it, very strategically, at Hak’s head. It didn’t hit, unfortunately, because Hak caught it. Pain in the ass. Scowling, Yun turned to Ik-Su. “Hey, priest, this is your home, too—”

His complaints lost momentum upon discovering that the dining table was covered by plates, food, and glasses. Ik-Su smiled, as though he had already been declared innocent of serving food to a bunch of intruders. That was it. Yun was no longer trusting blondes. Especially if they smiled a lot. They were nothing but _traitors_.

“…Why,” Yun whispered, more-so hissed. Both Ik-Su and Zeno, the two traitorous blondes, laughed. At the same time, nonetheless. They must be up to something.

“We’re you’re honored guests,” Hak answered. Yun couldn’t wait to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

Zeno sprang over the _genkan_ and immediately began to dig into the food. With a quick “Pardon the intrusion,” soon followed by “Thanks for the food,” the rest of the intruders entered the house and picked up food for themselves. Hak threw Yun’s slipper back to its owner before serving himself a rather large portion, then handed a much smaller share to Yona. Shinah and Zeno took the only two seats at the table, the latter practically absorbing instead of eating his food. Shinah, meanwhile, ate slowly, making sure to pace the ever-ravenous Ao as he fed him. Jae-ha and Kija opted out and instead conversed with Ik-Su. Yona stared down at her small plate, then looked up, found Yun, and jogged over to him.

“I already ate breakfast,” she said, grinning oh-so-beautifully and kindly, “would you like my share?”

And, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stay mad at Yona. Heaving a sigh deeper than a canyon, he scratched the back of his head. “Is anyone else coming…?”

Yona nodded with a high-pitched, kind of squeaky, very endearing noise of affirmation. “I invited Lili. Since she and I will be helping you tomorrow, I wanted to show her around so she won’t get lost during the festival.”

Yona giggled and Yun put his slipper back on. “Then save the food for her.” He nudged the plate towards Yona. “By the way, you guys have to worry about lunch for yourselves. I  
won’t have time to cook!”

“Yes, sir!” Yona responded immediately, saluting him.  
  


* * *

  
Once all the food, save for Yona’s share, had been digested, and all the plates had been cleaned and put away, the group went outside to begin setting up the festival. Ik-Su, by command of Yun, stayed inside to prepare an ice cooler full of bottled water for their guests. Kija also opted to remain indoors, with the excuse that Ik-Su needed someone to watch over him, since he was so clumsy.

Outside, the work had just begun. In addition to the many decorations Yun had made, there were various boxes, most large, some small, clustered in a corner of the walkway. Apparently, several of the vendors had asked Yun to set up some of their stalls for them. For a minor fee, Yun had agreed.

“Looks like we have a long day of work ahead of us…” Jae-ha grumbled as he pulled his long hair into a lazy bun. He turned to the man beside him and pinched the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Shinah.”

The called upon man turned to his roommate. He nodded to communicate that he was listening.

“Could you go grab a bottle of water for me? I don’t care if it’s still warm.”

Shinah looked at the shrine, then back at Jae-ha. “Okay…” he muttered. Smiling, Jae-ha released his sleeve and waved him off. Shinah jogged to the side of the shrine until he spotted Kija and Ik-Su’s outside shoes sitting uniformly beside a marker stone. He knocked on the wooden door to let them know he was coming inside, then made his entrance. As quickly and as smoothly as he could (which wasn’t very quickly or smoothly at all), he untied his shoelaces and slipped off his tennis shoes. After placing them outside, making sure to line them up with Kija’s, he found his pair of slippers, which were marked on the back with the kanji for his name. He still had trouble reading it, but, at the very least, he could recognize it.

Once the slippers were on his feet, Shinah stood and walked to the kitchen.

“Kija…” he mumbled.

“Yes?” Kija quickly responded. He was in the middle of dumping ice cubes from a tray to the cooler. Ik-Su sat on the floor with a multitude of water bottles in his lap.

Shinah took a breath. Oh-so familiar anxiety was building up in his throat, shriveling his tongue and whispering to him about all the bad things that had happened in the past when he dared to speak. But when he looked up, all he saw was a very lovely person whom Yona had entrusted him to. Kija was nice. Kija liked to hear him talk.

Shinah released a shaky breath. The anxiety was still there, but could say something, at least. Forcing down the clog in his throat, he pointed at the bottles in Ik-Su’s lap. “Water…”

Kija looked at Ik-Su’s lap. “We’re still putting them in the cooler.” He re-directed his gaze at Shinah. “Are you thirsty?”

Shinah shook his head. “Jae-ha is…”

Kija blinked. “Oh, all right. I’m sure it’s fine, then.” Ik-Su grinned and handed a bottle to Kija, who thanked him and placed the tray in the cooler. Kija walked over to Shinah and held out the bottle. “Here you go.”

Shinah nodded in appreciation and reached out to take it.

“Wait!”

Shinah froze immediately. He stared at Kija, waiting for his next command.

“Did you forget your hoodie? You’re not wearing it,” Kija commented as he placed a hand on the bare skin of Shinah’s arm.

Shinah shook his head.

Kija frowned. “That’s no good. You’re still so pale. You need sunscreen if you’re going to be outside.” He turned to Ik-Su. “Priest, where do you keep the sunscreen?”

Ik-Su hummed in thought before pointing excitedly in Shinah’s direction. “If you keep going down that way, you’ll find the bathroom. Yun keeps it there.”  
Kija smiled and bowed his head. “Thank you very much.” Then he turned to Shinah and pinched the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Come now, let us find some sunscreen for you. I don’t want you to burn.” Shinah nodded and followed him. He didn’t want to burst into flames, after all. Kija led him down the hallway until they were well past the entryway. He turned to Shinah, placed the water bottle on the ground, and said, “Stay here while I find the bathroom.”

Shinah bobbed his head. Shifting his weight to his heels, he tensed his knees and dug his toes into the soft cotton of his slippers. His shoulders rolled back and pulled his spine straight, his chest puffing like a bird about to signal for its family. He wondered, idly, if he whistled, would Yona and Kija-nii and Jae-ha and Yun and Zeno and Hak call back? Would it be like the bird songs that overpowered the early morning silence? Chatter turned into music notes, distinctive cries made melodic?

…No, it wouldn’t. Everyone was pretty loud. It’d be more like a grudge match. Hak would probably win, too. Nobody (except Yona, sometimes) seemed to like it when Hak  
won. Shinah should avoid whistling.

A flicker of a chuckle slipped from Kija’s sealed lips, as though he could read Shinah’s thoughts. “No need to be so tense, Shinah. You’re welcome in Yun’s home.” He offered a smile, one part Yona (kind), two parts loving, then turned and slowly jogged away.

Shinah allowed his shoulders to droop. Hands, freshly clean from washing the dishes, curved around the slight dips in his waist, arms crossing over his stomach. He liked Yun’s home. It was small, yet etched by love and family. Every wall, every rice paper panel, every board was coated with Yun’s aggressive adoration for Ik-Su, and Ik-Su’s relentless reverence for Yun. It was a quaint warmth that comforted all who experienced it. It was different from Hak’s home, where, during Shinah’s brief stay there, the family was a large, united front. Not once was the house, with its many halls and rooms, quiet. The noise fluctuated from reassuring to upsetting, from hilarity to discontentment. There was always at least one person upset with the other. Yet there was also, at every available moment, people enjoying life together. When Shinah was left alone, because Yona and Hak had to go to school, somebody in the house would come to keep him company. Honestly, a part of him was glad he had moved out, even though he did not get to see Yona as often. He didn’t like all the noise.

Yun’s home was also different from the apartment, where Jae-ha and Kija laughed and fought and loved and worked. They were constantly busy, Kija with his classes, Jae-ha with his job. But they made time for him, no matter what. Jae-ha would cook for him and talk with him, encouraging him to speak more, but never forcing him from his comfort zone—well, except when it came to his eyes, but that was another matter entirely. Kija would settle down with him in the evenings and would teach him how to read and write. Even when they were gone, he did not feel alone. There was the TV, and Ao stayed with him. And at the right time of day, Shinah could turn on Jae-ha’s old radio, and a station would play nice music. The apartment was lively, yet calm. It was perfect.

But Shinah was not home with Jae-ha and Kija. He was standing in Yun’s house, his back to the door leading to Yun’s vegetable garden. He faced a wall made of aging wood. To his left were cube shelves, most of them empty. To his right was nothing, except the knowledge that Kija had gone that way. Ao was with Yona, watching over her to make sure she did not strain herself when carrying the boxes. Shinah was also cold. He should have fetched his hoodie from the drying line, but Yona had been so excited to go, he had forgotten. If he had remembered, he would not be left alone with nothing to do except to wait for Kija’s return.

Shinah shook his head. There was no need to be anxious. He was welcome in Yun’s home, and Kija would never actually abandon him in an unfamiliar place. There was a reason for Yona trusting Kija, and whomever Yona trusted, Shinah trusted.

Kija got lost easily, though, so it’d be pointless to expect a short wait. Yun’s home was not large, but it had a lot of rooms for a family of two. Shinah might as well keep himself entertained somehow. So long as he remained in the same spot, he should be fine.

Shinah pulled his baseball cap off his head and placed it on the floor, brim facing the aged, wooden wall. After shifting it with his feet, to make sure it was perfectly aligned with where his body stood, he moved himself to the cube shelves. There were five shelves, each carrying six cubes. Most of the cubicles were lined with dust, left alone for better things, but several of them, particularly along the top shelves and down the far right, were wiped and decorated. Many of the decorations were mere trinkets, such as wood-carved dolls—no taller than the length of his palm—and framed child paintings, and they were all coated in the lightest layer of dust. But, on the second-from-the-top, farthest right cubicle, was a pressed and folded _miko_ outfit, completely clean.

He thought about the picture Yona had shown him, Jae-ha, and Kija when they were on the train ride to Yun’s neighborhood. Carefully, Shinah tucked his fingers under the miko outfit and pulled it from its cubicle. He got down to his knees, sitting on his ankles, and rested the _hakama_  and _haori_ upon his lap. The white fabric of the _haori_ alone made the outfit seem delicate beyond handling, and Ao had always told him to handle stuff with the utmost care, since he was stupid enough to break everything otherwise. So, with his hands shaking ever-so-slightly, he unfolded the shirt slowly and smoothed out every tiny wrinkle he could find along the way. He lifted it, like a piece of art about to be framed upon the wall, and marveled at the simplicity. It was little wonder how Yun, with his long eyelashes and unmarred skin, could make such a humble garment strike the mind with every imaginable word for beautiful.

Perhaps, if Shinah asked politely enough, Yun would wear the _miko_ outfit again. Of course, Yun would be adorned in the stark white and stunning red the next night, when he  
would pretend to be a woman during the festival. But Shinah had only seen Yun as a _miko_ with a wig and make-up, not true to himself. It’d be nice to see Yun being himself.

Ah, but then again, Yun being true to himself might not mean wanting to wear the _miko_ outfit… He shouldn’t ask Yun about it.

“Seiryuu! There you are!” Zeno’s delightful, sunny voice called, the sound circling Shinah’s head with music notes and memories of Tae-Woo and Han-Dae playing. “The lad and miss are worried about you!” Without further delay, Zeno ran down the hall to Shinah and jumped, tackling the sitting boy and nearly pushing the clothes from Shinah’s hands and lap. “What’re you doing?”

Zeno rested his chin on Shinah’s shoulder, smiling with the force of a bright summer’s day, as Shinah quickly tried to re-fold the _haori_ before any damage could be done. “Oh! I didn’t know the lad had something like that lying around,” Zeno interjected as he pulled the _hakama_ from falling off the brink of Shinah’s thigh. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Shinah nodded. Zeno hummed and wrapped his arms around Shinah’s waist. “The lad would look really pretty in it, don’t you think?”

Shinah looked down as he placed the (probably terribly) folded _haori_ on top of the (very nicely) folded _hakama_. Jae-ha usually folded the laundry back home, while Shinah just watched, so he wasn’t sure how to do it right… “ He does,” he mumbled in reply to Zeno while he contemplated if he folded the _haori_ correctly.

“Eh?” was Zeno’s immediate response. His arms tightened around Shinah’s waist. “What are you talking about, Seiryuu? Have you seen the lad in these clothes?”

Shinah turned his head to Zeno, about to answer him, when Kija finally returned.

“Shinah! I found the sunscreen!” clashed with, “Hakuryuu! The lad is a _miko_!” Shinah’s head swarmed as he looked between Kija and Zeno. Was he supposed to answer either one of them? If so, who? And what was he supposed to do about the _haori_ and _hakama_? He should probably return them, but he was completely caught in Zeno’s arms. And he wasn’t in the spot Kija had told him to stay put in. What was he supposed to do? This was a predicament.

_What would Ao do?_ he wondered, thinking of his predecessor.

Well, Ao would probably shout obscenities and punch Zeno in the face. That was probably a bad idea.

Before Shinah could continue his internal conflict, Zeno hopped up, taking Shinah with him. Hanging lamely from Zeno’s arms, feet barely planted on the ground and his knees bent to the point of making him fall, Shinah, with the _miko_ outfit held protectively to his chest, thought that this was not a good solution. Especially since he was several centimeters taller than Zeno. Perhaps he should raise his feet off the ground to take away the height difference problem?

“Did I miss something?” Kija asked with a frown.

Zeno nodded so furiously, Shinah found himself moving with each bob of Zeno’s head. “The lad is a _miko_! Seiryuu’s seen him! Why didn’t any of you guys tell Zeno? Has Zeno been using the wrong pronouns this whole time?”

“Huh? What? Zeno, calm down,” Kija advised. The floorboards creaked like the voices of old men as Kija approached the duo, stopping momentarily to pick up Shinah’s cap. “Yun still identifies as a boy, there is no need to fret.” Kindly, Kija returned Shinah’s hat to his head, and he made sure it fitted perfectly.

The next breath Zeno took was a calm one. “Oh, really? That’s good! Zeno was worried the lad was keeping secrets!” He laughed, inadvertently jostling Shinah. He decided right then and there that he didn’t enjoy being carried by Zeno. He liked the contact, and Zeno’s hugs were very nice, but being carried by Zeno made his stomach feel weird.

Kija smiled. “If Yun was keeping secrets, why would he tell Shinah?” Kija reached out and corrected the sunglasses perched on Shinah’s nose. “I am certain he trusts all of us. Ah, Shinah, please hold out your arm.”

Oh? Was he going to be transferred from Zeno to Kija? That would be good. Kija was always careful. Being carried by him would be nice.

Shinah did as told and held out his arm, expectant. Kija uncapped the bottle of sunscreen in his hand and squeezed out a dollop onto his palm. Without further ado, he began massaging the sunscreen onto Shinah’s outstretched arm.

Shinah frowned. This was not what he wanted.

“Seiryuu’s silent. He’s the best person to tell a secret to,” Zeno responded.

“But that would require Yun to visit the apartment. Shinah doesn’t have a phone yet, so there is no other way for Yun to inform him of a secret. It would be impossible to get the secret past Jae-ha, then. If Jae-ha knew, you would certainly know soon.” Kija laughed, much like the quick rattling of a nudged wind chime. He pinched Shinah’s fingers between his own as he spread the last of the sunscreen.

“Why doesn’t Seiryuu have a phone yet?” Zeno questioned.

Kija signaled for Shinah’s other arm. After a bit of awkward maneuvering, since he did not want to drop Yun’s outfit, Shinah managed to comply with Kija’s requested. “Because I agreed to pay for it, but have yet to save up enough. Jae-ha already spends enough of his money supporting us, so I pay for extra things, such as electronics and take-out food.”

“Wow! Ryoukuryuu must be a good husband!”

“Most certainly. W-wait!! What!?”

…What was a husband? Shinah’s frown tightened. He had heard the word thrown around a lot, especially on TV, but no one had ever explained what it was. It was also his first time hearing the word associated with Jae-ha. Typically, when it came to Jae-ha, he was called a “pervert” (whatever that was). Was a husband a pervert? If so, then Jae-ha really must be a good husband.

Zeno laughed and turned his attention to the confused Shinah. “How’d you find out about the lad being a miko, then?”

“Z-Zeno… hold on, what did you say about Jae-ha?”

Shinah looked at the frantic Kija, then at the smiling Zeno. He was worried about the former, but the latter had asked him a question. He should answer him. “Yona has a picture…”

“Please answer my questi—”

“Alright! Then Zeno’s gonna go ask!” For a flutter of a moment, Shinah hoped he would be released. Instead, Zeno turned on his heel, dragging Shinah with him. What were hopes? What were dreams? They were a bad idea if Zeno was around, apparently. “Let’s go, Seiryuu!”

Well, if he had to be carried over to Yun, he should at least make it easier on Zeno. Their height difference must make things difficult. Shinah lifted his feet from the ground, not at all worried about the fact that Zeno was physically weak.

But, in the split-span of a second, they were face-first on the ground.

In hindsight, Shinah should have worried.  
  


* * *

  
Outside the shrine, the rest of the group—Yona, Hak, Jae-ha, and the new addition, Lili—puttered around with boxes full of stall merchandise and festival decorations. Ik-Su watched them from a seat beside the offering box, the ice cooler by his feet. Yun stood upon a step-stool, ordering around four people of varying years older than him. In that moment, under the warm spring sun and surrounded by chilly winds of the dying winter, Hak knew three things to be certain. One, that Yona was, by far, the most amazing person he had ever met. Two, that he was well aware of his bias towards Yona. Three, that he disliked most of Yona’s friends. Shinah was an easy exception, though, of course.

One might wonder why, exactly, Hak disliked most of Yona’s friends. Overall, none of them were harmful. While they each had their own quirks, thus creating quite a strange group of people, they loved and cared for Yona. With some exceptions, they even respected Hak’s longstanding feelings for Yona. Then why did Hak dislike them? The answer was simple: they were so fucking annoying.

“Green! Watch where you’re going! There’s breakable items in those boxes!”

“I know my arms are beautiful and muscular, but it’s hard to watch where I’m going when you gave me five boxes…”

“Don’t just stand there and yell orders! It’s _your_ festival, help us!”

Hak heaved a sigh dripping with aggravation. He wondered when he crossed the line between helping his childhood-friend-turned-lifelong-crush and becoming a slave to a fifteen-year-old dictator? Probably somewhere when he and Yona had discovered Yun’s crossdressing, he figured. To make the situation worse, he had to listen to Jae-ha’s complaining. That man had a motor for a mouth when he was upset. Whoever let him become a school counselor had obviously made the wrong decision. Lili—well, she was okay. She got angry in Yona’s stead, and was usually a pretty chill person to hang out with when she wasn’t trying to monopolize Yona’s attention. Her personal assistants, Ayura and Tetora, were an actual challenge to Hak whenever they sparred for fun. So, all in all, Lili was an alright person.

But Hak could really do without her when she argued with Yun about how to set up for the festival.

“I already made all the decorations! Plus, if I took my eyes off you lot now, you’d make a mess of everything!”

“Why is your faith in your friends so low!? You’re like a petulant child!”

“I’m fifteen! I’m not a kid!”

“You certainly act like one!”

“ _What_!?”

Somehow or other, Hak knew that this would not turn out well at all. Either Yun would become even more of a slave trader, or Lili would, in fact, ruin everything.

With another sigh, Hak decidedly ignored the quarreling duo. Secretly, he rooted for Lili. If she ruined everything, then, hey, less work for him. Yun would throw out everyone who he couldn’t stand for more than one minute, and that included Hak (usually), so it’d be a happy end for everyone. Chuckling, he finished tying up a line of decorative carp flags.

“If I’m a kid, then you’re a kid, too!”

“Excuse you?! I’m seventeen! I’m practically an adult!”

Yep. He was just going to leave that alone.

“Hak!” Yona called out. Immediately, he turned to the direction of her voice. She jogged over to him, her floral pink skirt, with trims of lace patterned in alternating lines between the cotton fabric, billowing in the wind. On her shoulder was Ao, who moved her paw in such a way that it looked like she was waving at him. Hefted in Yona’s arms was a white cardboard box, stuffed past the brim with various game prizes, such as stacks of boxed candies, small plushies, and containers full of marbles. Near instinctively, Hak reached out to take the load from Yona. Despite her shaking arms, however, when she reached him, she made no move to hand the burden to him.

“What is it, Princess?” Hak asked, his eyes trained on the box. Were those anime figurines he spied? Who the fuck sold those at a festival?

“Jae-ha-san’s worried about Yun and Lili fighting. He wants your help breaking them up,” Yona answered promptly. Ao squeaked and jumped off Yona’s shoulder, landing purposefully on Hak’s outstretched arm. Quickly, she scampered up Hak’s sleeve until she was nicely nestled at his neck. Briefly, Yona bent down to place the box on the ground, then popped right back up with a smile, apparently proud of something. Such a cutie.

“Why are you communicating the message for him?” Hak asked, attempting to avoid any thought about how terribly adorable Yona was.

“Because you’ve been refusing to talk to him all day.”

Hak looked up and noticed Jae-ha not too far away. With the pile of boxes of decorations and prizes, Jae-ha had somehow built a small chair himself. He was already sitting upon it, idly waving his hand at Hak, the set of his eyebrows communicating a _Come Hither_ look. Hak immediately looked back down at his friend.

“Yona.”

“Yes?”

Hak reached out his hand to squeeze her shoulder. “I have something to tell you as your elder.”

She blinked. “Hak, you’re only two years olde—”

“Don’t talk to perverts. They will only bring you down a path to ruin.”

Yona stared up at him. He looked down at her. Her lips pressed together, and they struggled between a smile and a frown. Hak smirked. He knew she would get the joke.

“I’m pretty sure the only ones going down a path of ruin right now are Yun and Lili,” Jae-ha suddenly interjected. He was still sitting on his make-shift box throne, a few paces away from them.

Could he hear them? Wasn’t hearing supposed to decrease when you get older? Hak glared. That idiot had jumped out of his room nearly naked just hours ago. Even if he _could_ hear Hak and Yona’s conversation, there was no way in hell Hak was going to talk to him.

Jae-ha frowned. “Won’t you spare me just a word, Hak? Life is so lonely without your voice.”

Hak furrowed his eyebrows. Okay, metaphorically, screw this pervert. “Don’t you have a boyfriend? Go listen to his voice if you’re so lonely.”

For just a moment, Jae-ha’s expression contorted. Instead of his usual, mocking grin, there was a grimace marring his lips. Ah, yes. Finally, _a weak spot_. Hak had been needing one of those ever since Jae-ha had begun bothering him about his feelings for Yona.

“We haven’t established anything like that,” Jae-ha quickly dismissed, the slightest hint of venom to his voice. Before Hak could smirk and further goad the pervert on, somehow, the tides turned, and Jae-ha was grinning again. Oh, no, he was _not_ going to let him start shit about Hak’s apparent “lack” of a relationship with Yona.

“Listen, Droopy Eyes,” Hak began. He pushed on Yona’s shoulder, guiding her to stand to the side. As soon as he took a step forward, completely ready to release some of his frustrations via a very heated debate about love lives, he found himself interrupted. Not by Jae-ha, nor by Yona. Not by either Yun or Lili turning to Yona for help in their quarrel. But by Zeno, the most confusing guy in Yona’s entire friend group.

“Miss! Show Zeno your phone!” the aforementioned confusing guy yelled while he dashed away from the shrine and to Yona. He, almost quite literally, was a blur of yellows and oranges and greens as he made his way to the group. When he tackled Yona, he became a blurb of pinks and reds, as well.

Due to some technicalities—also known as Zeno’s constant fluctuating from somewhat bearable to completely annoying—Zeno had yet to make it to Hak’s list of “friends of Yona who I don’t like.” He was slowly getting there, though. Especially since he had effectively disrupted Lili and Yun’s argument, leaving no winner behind. Damn him.

Luckily for Yona, though, she managed not to fall over from Zeno’s body smashing against hers. She held onto him, her hands on his back, as she steadied herself. “Eh? Zeno? Why do you need my phone?” Yona asked, her voice sincere and soft. Out of the corner of his eye, Hak noticed Ik-Su leave his seat and begin approaching the group. Soon behind him was a very dazed White Snake, with a very happy Shinah hitching a piggyback ride on him. Wow. He didn’t know Kija was strong enough to carry Shinah. Impressive!

Zeno let out a happy noise, something somewhere between a groan and a purr. He rubbed his cheek against Yona’s and hugged her shoulders. “Seiryuu told me you have a picture of the lad as a _miko_ on your phone! Zeno wants to see!”

“Excuse me!?” was the next reaction, given only by Yun. He pointed, accusatory, at Yona. “You showed them the picture?!”

Yona blinked, unfazed. “Of course I did. If we’re going to raise enough money for you to go to school, we’re going to need as much help as possible. And it’s not fair to leave your friends in the dark about these kind of things!” Smoothly, she removed herself from Zeno. Unperturbed, Zeno moved over to Hak and signaled for Ao to go to him, so he could play with her. “Plus,” Yona continued, “I wanted to show them how good at photography Lili is!”

Lili jumped a little, a blush rapidly blooming on the hollows of her cheeks. “I-I—” she pathetically began, “be—be qu-quiet, Yona! That wasn’t my best work!” She slapped her hands against her cheeks, her royal blue nail polish clashing against the unrelenting pink. “It was taken with a phone camera, after all!”

Yun looked at her, his anger temporarily soothed. “It was really good, though.”

“Hm?!” Lili snapped her attention to him.

Yun nodded. “I got a lot of pictures taken of me that day. But yours was, by far, the best.”

Lili’s only response was something akin to a shriek. She hid her eyes behind her hands, using the age-old technique of “ _if I can’t see them, they can’t see me_.” Hak squinted. He would never understand people younger than him. One minute they were fighting uproariously, the next they were aggressively complimenting each other. Bunch of weirdos. (Or was that simply because they were Yona’s friends?)

Yona giggled and pulled her phone from her pocket. “You’re so cute, Lili.”

Right then, two things happened at the same time. One, Ik-Su and Kija (with a grinning Shinah) arrived to the group. Two, Yun returned his very furious attention to Yona.

“Don’t change the subject!” Yun shouted. Yona instantly held her phone protectively to her chest. “I didn’t want anyone to find out I was dressing up as a _miko_! This is _my_ problem, not yours!” He stormed over to Yona. “Instead, you gathered everyone and told them without my permission! I never even asked for your help!” Hak tensed his jaw, ready to break them up. A quick look around the group notified him that Jae-ha and Lili were ready to do the same.

Instead, though, it was Ik-Su who stepped in. “Yun,” he said, sternly and sensitively. His tone floated over the crowd, capturing molecules of anger and tension and imprisoning them. With the slightest tip of his head, the prison closed in on itself, taking all the bad energy with it to the grave. His lips, pulled into a frown, ended any possible argument of Yun’s. Ik-Su held out his hand and placed it on the back of Yun’s neck, then led him into a hug.

“Why are you so angry, Yun?” he mumbled. “Did something happen?”

Yun, with his arms hanging at his sides, hid his face in Ik-Su’s chest. “I want to go to school,” he replied, though his words were almost completely muffled by the cloth of Ik-Su’s robes.

“Huh?” Ik-Su took a step back, ending the hug but keeping his hands on Yun’s shoulders.

Yun’s lips trembled into a frown. “You heard me! I want to go to school! But you barely save up enough money for us just to eat! Even though we hold festivals and sell stuff, you give the money away, either to other people or to the gods! What am I supposed to do?” Tears budded in Yun’s glass blue eyes, and they stubbornly remained there, even when Yun wiped at them with the back of his arm. “Why would you take me in if you weren’t going to pay for my education? You stupid priest! I have no choice but to raise the money myself. So I dressed up as a _miko_ to attract more attention to the shrine. I was going to start up donations as a shrine maiden and keep the money for myself.” He sniffed and looked away, his gaze landing somewhere at Yona’s feet.

Silence ensued. Shinah slid off Kija’s back, but he made no other moves. Jae-ha crossed his arms over his abdomen, nails digging into the flesh of his bicep. Lili stared at the ground, her hands clasped in front of her. Both Yona and Kija watched Yun with their lips drawn. Hak stood still, waiting for Ik-Su to say something.

It was Zeno who took the first step towards Yun, however. With Ao cradled in his hand, he smiled and said, “The lad’s overreacting.”

All eyes immediately went to him. Oh my god. Did he just say that? Holy shit. He just said that.

Yun’s jaw dropped open. There was nothing to say.

Ik-Su laughed. Everyone turned their heads to him. “He’s right.”

Everybody else’s jaws dropped open.

“I’ve been saving up money for a long time now,” Ik-Su continued. He tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robes. “For both your high school and college tuition. I nearly have enough to pay for high school.” He chuckled again as Yun’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Then what about all that money you’ve given away?!” Yun demanded.

“Spare change!” Ik-Su replied easily.

A laugh tickled the back of Hak’s throat. It struggled and grew against the roof of his mouth. It vibrated along the tips of his teeth and escaped in short snorts through his nose. Unable to hold it back, he released it in one, loud, relieved guffaw. Hunching over, he held his stomach loosely as his chest rattled with laugh after laugh. Of course there was no need to worry! He couldn’t believe they were all so worried about those two! Even that careless priest knew what was most important to the one he loved! Really, it was all so ridiculous.

“Hey! Thunder Beast! Shut up!” Yun ordered. That only worsened his laughter, though, and Hak soon found his knees rattling and threatening to give out on him. He began to sink, snickering to himself.

“Hak…” Yona mumbled. She reached out a hand, her fingernails brushing against his shoulder. Quickly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him. “Hak?” she repeated against his continuous laughter.

He looked at her and fought to find his words. “This— _snrk_ —this is so, ahah, this is so _stupid_! Ehehehahahahaha!”

Her cheeks were pink. He attributed the color to the blush she had applied that morning (nevermind that it had faded hours ago). Hak kept ahold of her hand as he laughed and laughed and laughed, and, soon enough, she was laughing right alongside him.  
  


* * *

  
Later that night, when they were eating dinner by treat of Jae-ha and Kija, Yun realized something. When he looked at Yona sharing food with Zeno and Ao; at Lili and Hak debating pointlessly over the usefulness of toothpicks; at Shinah as he whispered a promise that they would help Yun; at Jae-ha and Kija while they had their own side conversation, laughing at jokes only they understood; at Ik-Su, who was aimlessly doodling on a napkin—Yun knew, right then, that he had the best friends anyone could ask for. Even when they fought over stupid things. Even when they laughed during serious moments. Even when they did things without his permission. They were the best friends anyone could ask for. They were a bunch of silly idiots, and Yun loved all of them so, so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I rush that third part? Maybe (yes). Once I was halfway through with Shinah's part, I was just. so done with this chapter. I'm not used to forcing myself to write on a regular basis ;;;;;; I'll be going back & editing this chapter later, though.
> 
> I'd appreciate feedback from y'all on my writing, btw. I have troubles with pacing and characterization, so I worry about everyone's general enjoyment. If you have anything you want to say, I'd love to hear it.
> 
> Also!!! Thank you so, so much to everyone who has reblogged/commented/liked/given kudos to the previous chapters. I love you guys so much. If it weren't for all of you, I probably would've never gotten to chapter 2 in the first place, let alone chapter 3. BLOWS KISSES TO EVERYONE.


	4. Okay, There Might be a Problem with Crossdressing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spring Fireworks Festival finally sets upon Kuuto, setting into motion the final phase of Yun’s plan. Not everything works perfectly, however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hecked up about 2 chapters ago when I decided to set this story during Golden Week in Japan… I wanted the story to be in the spring, & the first festival in spring that I could think of was Children’s Day!! But then I realized that Children’s Day festivals aren’t celebrated at night… and that Kouka isn’t Japan…………… this is what happens when I don’t properly plot out my stories. I throw in shit & regret later. So, uh, let’s forget any indication I’ve made in previous chapters that the story is set during Golden Week in Japan. We’ll just pretend & make up a Kouka fireworks festival where Yun can show off. (Why fireworks? Please see this~ http://mcgrillzdumpinc.tumblr.com/post/111970312881/girafferaven-yunones-kagura-dance-at-the )At least other mistakes I’ve made in previous chapters can be explained away or corrected in this final chapter -.-;;;;;; (I also, removed the headcanon of Shinah being a selective mute because I realized it didn’t work)
> 
> Haha, anyway, please enjoy.

Night was falling upon the city of Kuuto, bright yellow-oranges fading into soft blues.  Streetlamps and house lights were stirring in sporadic unison, stealing stars and bringing out the energetic youth.  It was the night of the Fireworks Festival, the first of the year and a hallmark of spring. Although it no longer lined up with the beginning of the school year, many a student took the time to find the nearest shrine and pray with their friends for a happy ten months that would mostly be spent at a desk.  Boots and sandals and sneakers spilled out onto the concrete streets, accompanied by colorful  _yukata_ and dull casual clothes. Boys kept their dates close, much like mothers hugged their children near, and friends ran amok, shouting jokes and playing games.  The night was assured to be a fun one, accompanied as it was with laughter and shrieks of joy.

          But inside a house so large it could be considered a mansion, the night had yet to begin.

          “Okay, first of all,  _no_.”

          If you were to enter this expansive house, navigate through a maze of adults and teenagers and children, go up a flight of stairs, travel down a long corridor, turn left, and find the fourth room on the right, you would find three friends—two lasses and a lad wearing a  _miko_ ’s outfit.  One of the ladies sat on her knees—prim, proper, patient—while the other girl did her hair and the boy applied her makeup.  Believe it or not, this was completely normal.

          Lili huffed.  In her hands were a straightener and a comb, her only weapons against the fiercest enemy of them all: Yona’s unruly, wavy hair.  Sitting across from her was Yun, who held up tubes of lip gloss and lipstick of varying red and pink shades.  He wielded them like throwing knives, each tube tucked in the spaces between his fingers, which was pretty similar to how he held kitchen utensils when it came time to cook.  Except, he wasn’t making any meals.  He was deciding on what color to paint Yona’s lips, and through what medium he would do so.

          Once again, this was completely normal.  In fact, the hair-makeup team that was Lili and Yun met up on a rather regular basis to toy with Yona’s appearance.  You might want to ask why.  But, to tell the truth, neither of them actually knew the answer.

          “She already has red hair, and her  _yukata_ is mostly red, so pink is the best choice.  It’ll balance her appearance out,” Yun argued.

          “And I agree with you,” Lili immediately replied.  “But all those pinks are too bright, so you should use a red lip gloss, since it’s not as striking.”  With some difficulty, she combed through Yona’s hair and collected a block of dawn red tresses, which she immediately secured with the straightener. Slowly, she pulled the iron down, taking as many waves as she could with her.  Judging by her grumbles, she couldn’t take very much.

          “But that’s the problem!  Even the red lip gloss would be too much.”  Yun placed down all the tubes of red and stubbornly held out the pinks.

          Lili made a hum that ended on a groan, and ironed the same block of Yona’s hair again.  “Look through my eyeshadow.  There should be some purples in there.”

          Yun nodded and twisted his torso to face Lili’s extensive makeup kit. Mumbling something about balance, he searched for purple eyeshadow.  Heat wafted from the straightening iron, indiscriminately pressing against Yona’s skin and hissing as sweat beads formed to fight the warmth off.   Idly, and to distract herself from fear of the iron singeing the exposed back of her neck, she twirled a straightened strand of hair that hung beside her cheek.

          Later on that night, there would be a dance.  It would be a celebration enacted through careful steps and flashy shows of fans. Yona, Lili, and Yun would dance together, but the girls’ main role would be to highlight the beautiful, unnamed  _miko_ who had swept through Twitter just two days prior.  As a result, Lili had decided it would be best for them to mirror each other.  It was a simple way, she had said, to bring more attention to Yun, since he would look nothing like them.  Yona’s hair was to be braided into a half crown that would complement the wrap-around Lili had braided her own, long hair into.  For the sake of simplicity, their  _yukatas_  were relatively plain, except for their colors, also made to balance each other.  Yona’s  _yukata_  was a red just a shade darker than her hair.  The dye stretched from her ankles to her chest, where the red quickly faded into white, much like the petals of an amaryllis, around her collar and down her sleeves.  Lili’s  _yukata_ , meanwhile, was the same color as dark blue hydrangeas.  White flowers were patterned into the cloth, appearing as though they were floating in the mid-evening sea.  Both Yona and Lili’s  _obis_  were the same shade of yellow, almost gold but without its trademark shimmer.

          Yun turned back to Yona, a small case of lilac purple eyeshadow in his hand, just as Lili finally managed to begin on the middle-back of Yona’s hair. He was frowning.  There was no worry in his brows, but there was something heavy in his eyes.  Was he sad?

          “Yun,” Yona called.  The boy looked up, his fingers suddenly clutching the eyeshadow case like it was a precious item.  “Is something bothering you?”

          Yun looked down at his knees.  He put the eyeshadow aside and scooted forward until the bright red of his  _hakama_  met with the deep red of Yona’s  _yukata_.   Hints of wrinkles formed around his mouth and upon his chin as he worried the gum of his bottom lip.  He kept his eyes steadily downcast.  Yona frowned, but waited for him.

          “…I…” he began.  Lili, unperturbed, steadfastly finished straightening another portion of hair and instantly combed through a block of hair behind Yona’s ear.  “I wanted… to apologize.  For how I treated you guys yesterday, and for my outburst.”

          A smile fluttered onto Yona’s lips.  That was all he was bothered about?  Thank goodness!  She had been so worried he was going to start screaming!

          “H-hey!” Yun exclaimed, his voice soft and shaky.  “What are you smiling about?”

          Yona giggled.  “You’re so cute, Yun.”

          Pink flooded his cheeks.  “Why are you saying that?!”  He crossed his arms and pouted.

          “I don’t know about Yona,” Lili interjected, “but I’m relieved.”  She clamped the iron over the block of hair behind Yona’s ear.

          “Hm? Why relieved?” Yun asked.

          “I was worried you were going to start yelling.”

          Yona stifled a snort at Lili’s bluntness.

          Yun furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the two girls.  “Really?  Yona, what about you?”

          Yona mustered the best smile she could without bursting into laughter at how absolutely  _aghast_ he was.  It was terrible of her to find his shock so funny, she knew that.  But she couldn’t help the humor she found in seeing Yun, usually so sure of himself and his intelligence, totally confused—and about himself, nonetheless! It was irony at its finest, honestly.

          “I was…” Yona gulped down a laugh, “a little worried, too.”

          The entire upper half of Yun’s body slumped, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.  His mouth curled into a snarl.  “You two think so lowly of me?!”

          Sometimes.  “No! Of course not,” Yona answered, waving her hand in dismissal.

          Yun huffed.  “Liar.”

          Yona grinned and exhaled any urge to laugh.  Lili shifted her position to sit beside Yona, instead of behind, and started working on the last sections of her hair.  Yun moved back, putting space between himself and the girls, and picked up the case of eyeshadow again.

          Yona reached out and took Yun’s free hand with both of hers.  His skin was cold.  But it was soft, much like his heart.  “You know we forgive you, right?”

          Pink returned to his face, but not as intensely, leaving the gentlest of glows on his cheeks.  It reminded her of the radiance of painted goddesses.  “Thanks,” he said as he gifted her with one of his rare, but ultimately lovely, smiles.

          Yona tightened her grip on his hand.  “Don’t forget that we’re here to help you, Yun.  You’re the type who tries to avoid relying on his friends.”  It had been true since the day they met, when she had visited the shrine to receive priestly advice from Ik-Su, and had had her every need, no matter how small, met by Yun, as though he had been born to take care of her.  “But it stresses you out.  So trust us a little more, okay?  If you’re going to continue with your plan to bring attention to the shrine so you can save up money for college, then we’re going to continue helping you.”

          Yun nodded his head.  “I will.”

          The room lapsed into comfortable silence.  Closing her eyes, Yona allowed Yun to apply a light layer of purple eyeshadow. She doubted her words, or his agreement, would actually change much.  Words were strong, but their power was not immediate.  She was okay that, though.  She liked Yun, no matter how cranky or stressed or prideful he could be. He was her dear friend, simple as that.

          Minutes later, a knock came at the door.  “Come in!” Lili called.  Hak walked in, already dressed for the night in his jeans and a thin, red Henley shirt. He had only put together one button of his shirt, which left a shallow, messy V to expose hints of his collarbone. He towered over the sitting group, his hands tucked in his back pockets.

          “The old man wants to get going soon,” Hak said.

          At this point, Yun had already finished applying Yona’s makeup.  A dash of purple eyeshadow, some mascara, a few strokes of blush, and blossom pink lip gloss, and he had deemed her perfect for the night.  Lili was braiding Yona’s hair, a task that was considerably easy with Yona’s hair (more or less) straightened.  “We’re almost done,” Yun answered.  Hak nodded. Yona smiled.

          “Hak, you should make sure to wear a jacket when we leave,” Yona commented. He tipped an eyebrow.  “It’s going to get cold later on.  That shirt isn’t enough to keep your torso warm!”  She pointed an accusatory finger at the shirt in question, as if it had personally offended her by not being a perfect insulator for her best friend’s body.

          Yun scoffed.  “Princess, he’s not as sensitive to the cold as you are.”  He stood up beside Hak.  “The Thunder Beast is made of muscle.  He’ll be fine—” Yun patted Hak’s abdomen for emphasis, but as soon as contact was made, his eyes bugged out, completely terrified.  “What the hell!?  Did your abs grow!?”

          Hak stared down at him and smirked.  “I work out a lot.”

          “You work out too much!”

          As the boys argued about the benefits of muscles, Lili pushed a few hair pins into Yona’s locks and mumbled the girl’s name to catch her attention. When Yona turned to her, she smiled like a general with newly conquered lands and announced, “It’s done!”

          Yona squealed.  No, not like a pig.  Don’t even think about that.  She lunged forward to pick up the circle mirror beside Lili’s makeup kit. “Whoa!!!  I look so cute, Lili!  You’re a genius!”

          And she meant every word.  Her hair, which could put eldritch horrors to shame, was pulled back so neatly, so perfectly, into a beautifully managed braid.  Her bangs remained, waves and all, but the way they fell framed her face nicely. The makeup done by Yun added just the right touch, balancing all the colors she wore.  She felt like she could hold a candle to all those cute idols she saw in the TV. (As if.)

          “Hak!  Don’t you think I look cute?” Yona asked.

          The boys stopped their argument.  Yun, upon looking at Yona, sucked in his lips, as though he was trying to hold something back, and averted his eyes, almost in shame (or maybe embarrassment).  Hak’s eyelids dropped to half-mast.  He crouched down, nearly at eye level with Yona, and said, “You look gorgeous, Princess.”

          For a second, she agreed.  For a second, she truly believed that she was gorgeous.  Despite her hair.  Despite her dry skin.  Despite her masculine arms from archery.  In Hak’s gaze, she was the most gorgeous woman in the world.  But that was silly.  As if she could be someone so spectacular.  As if Hak would ever look at her like that.  Her mind was wondering into dangerous territory.

          She ducked her head, hoping that the heat on her face wasn’t noticeable. Which it probably was, at least to Hak. Somehow or another, Hak always knew, could always see every little thing about her.  Even when they were children, when they would play hide and seek, she could never sneak up on him, because he had already sensed her.  It angered her, that she couldn’t fool him.

          “Of course she’s gorgeous!” Lili interrupted.  There was something nervous in her tone of voice.  Had the atmosphere become that awkward?  “Yun and I worked hard.”  Proudly, she patted her chest.  Yun nodded rapidly in agreement.

          Yona was pretty thankful for her great friends.

          Hak glanced at both of them impassively.  After a second, he bobbed his head and stood up.  “You two did a great job.”  Hak offered his hand to Yona.  “Come on now, Princess, we need to leave for the festival.”  There was a crash from somewhere downstairs, followed by children’s laughter and adults’ shouting and an ever-familiar voice.  Hak and Yun’s eyebrows twitched in unison. “Sounds like Zeno’s already here to pick us up.”

          Yona fabricated a giggle.  She took Hak’s hand, stood up with his help, then held out her own hand for Lili.  Her friend accepted the offer and got up. While Lili released Yona’s hand as soon as she was on her feet, Yona held onto Hak’s.  She wasn’t sure why.  Even as everyone left the room and went downstairs, even after Hak had to take his hand back to pull on a cargo jacket, she didn’t let go.  When they left the house, as she gripped his fingers with hers, she figured a good reason would pop up sooner or later.  Maybe.

          Hopefully.

* * *

 

Ever since the group had agreed to help Yun raise money for college (because Ik-Su apparently had high school covered), it had been one thing after another after another  _after another_.  First, they had to choose jobs for the festival, with all proceeds they earned going to Yun’s fund.  That had been easy enough, even when a little outburst had occurred over Jae-ha opting to stay out of the booths and instead remain behind the stage, playing music for Yun, Yona, and Lili’s dance, with Shinah to accompany him.

          Next, though, was the problem of  _preparing_.  Kija enjoyed helping others in need, of course.  He was a proud heir to the Hakuryuu name!  It would be a true disgrace if he were to ignore such important things in favor of his own comfort.  So, preparing for the festival was no problem at all for  _him_.  However, that was not the case for his friends.  Unfortunately.  Probably not unexpectedly.  But completely unacceptable.

          After struggling to hurry his roommates from the apartment (which included the fierce battle to remove Jae-ha from the bathroom mirror), he had to endure the agonizing wait.  Ik-Su, surprised at their early arrival, had been treating them with the utmost hospitality for an hour.  This meant that, for an excruciating sixty minutes or more, Kija had been drinking poorly made tea and being forced to watch the other festival workers set up their booths.  Completely maddening.  Not only were they surprisingly lazy with their presentations, but Kija had also caught one of them rigging his game!  The nerve of that man!

          But when Kija had intervened and corrected the game, Shinah had wondered over to a man selling masks.  Shinah had meant no harm, obviously, but his stubborn silence had unnerved the man, who had quickly resorted to throwing masks at Shinah and shouting  _what do you want from me?!  Take all of them!_   Some desperate pleas and tossing of money later, Shinah was the proud owner of various anime masks, while Kija was slowly approaching dirt poor.

          “Why aren’t they here yet?!”

          He could handle lazy roommates.  He could handle his strange pseudo-little brother.  What he couldn’t handle, though, was when the very person he was doing all this for  _hadn’t arrived_.  Yun was late, so terribly late, to the festival and his very own plan!

          “Perhaps Yun changed his mind,” Jae-ha answered.  He was standing with Ik-Su at the entrance, dressed in casual brown pants, a slim-fit black blazer, and a low-collared green shirt.

          “That isn’t funny, Jae-ha!” Kija yelled in return.  He, unlike his roommate, was dressed in a white  _yukata_ , intricately embroidered with silver details, pictures alluding to the dragon legend behind his heritage.  It had been made for him by the family tailors, alongside various other garments for special occasions.  Tied tightly around his waist was a sky blue  _obi_.  Shinah stood in front of him.  Due to short notice, he had to settle for a dark blue  _yukata_  of Jae-ha’s, from when he was younger (and shorter).  His  _obi_ was a simple wood brown, and Kija busied himself by attempting to perfect its tie.  Shinah, meanwhile, was seemingly unaware of the day’s tragedies, and instead occupied his time by trying to wear three masks at once.

          “It wasn’t meant to be funny,” Jae-ha lazily replied.

          “Then call them to see what’s taking them so long!” Kija shouted.  Was he being rude?  Was it wrong of him to exhaust his anger onto a guiltless party? Yes and yes.  But Jae-ha probably deserved it for something he did last week, so Kija was fine with his own actions.  

          “I can’t~” Jae-ha sang back.  He gave a smile, one that had charmed many a person in his life, to a group of young women arriving at the festival.  Ik-Su bowed to them and wished them a fun night.  “You pushed me out of the apartment before I could grab it.  Think of all the people you’re depriving of my attention~.”

          At a loss for words—and kind of physically incapable of making them—Kija took one of Shinah’s masks and threw it at Jae-ha’s head.

          It didn’t go very far, though.  It flew for a little bit before it fell to the ground like a wet paper towel.

          A certain, insolent man (name: Ryoukuryuu Jae-ha; date of birth: probably  _rude jerk_ day) found the fallen mask absolutely hilarious and quickly bent over, failing without trying to suppress his raucous laughter.  A much nicer man, deemed the Great Ik-Su in Kija’s mind, stepped over to the mask, picked it up, and placed it on the side of his head.  Considering he was dressed in full priest attire, he looked rather silly with a red  _sentai_ mask on, but Kija approved.  Shinah, who had been watching with a mix of shock and amazement the entire time, seemed to approve, as well.

          “You two shouldn’t be fighting,” Ik-Su reprimanded.  Kija glared at Jae-ha.  His roommate simply made a peace sign in return and snickered obviously behind his hand.  Tucking his hands into his sleeves, Ik-Su returned to Jae-ha’s side and bowed to an arriving married couple.  “This is going to be a fun night.  Yun’s plans never fail, and he isn’t the type to back out.”

 In the rising moonlight and the luminosity of the streetlamps, Ik-Su’s buckwheat blonde hair shone with all his kindness and all his wisdom.  For a moment, Kija wished to bow in his presence. He could understand why Yun, with his short temper and harsh attitude, could have remained by Ik-Su’s side for so many years.

          Jae-ha hushed his snickers and straightened his back.  The ability to respect others still existed in him, apparently.  What a shocker.  “Speaking of Yun and his plan…” Jae-ha began.  “He certainly is asking for a lot, don’t you think?”  Kija rolled his eyes and moved to stand behind Shinah again. Just a few more twists and the _obi_ would be tied.

          “Hm? Why do you ask that?” Ik-Su questioned.

          “Well, we’ve already agreed to work at the festival and give our earnings to him. And he was so angry when Shinah and I decided to play music instead of run a booth.  Even Hak has to waste his precious youth attending to a game booth with his younger brother!”  Jae-ha flicked his bangs dramatically.  Kija wouldn’t be surprised if he was already crying, as well.  “And you will be spending the festival walking around and asking for donations.  Such a lively night, with so many beautiful, young people, and we’re doing all this just so he can definitely go to college.”  Jae-ha sighed.  “It worries me that he has to put in so much thought and effort just to ensure his education.”

          A soft chuckle escaped Ik-Su.  “It’s nice to hear you be so serious.”  Jae-ha made a noise of surprise.  Interested, Kija quickly finished tying Shinah’s  _obi_  and leaned over Shinah’s shoulder to watch.  Shinah held up a mask for Kija to wear, which he promptly did. “He probably knew from the first day I took him in that providing for him would be difficult.  It’s hard to know that I can’t do much, but if seeing him happy means watching him work so hard, then I can be fine with that.”  Ik-Su bowed to a young boy running ahead of his laughing father.  The boy shouted about missing a performance from someone (some girl named Yunone), while the father chuckled and assured him everything would be fine.  “I’m glad that he has such good friends.”

          Kija grabbed Shinah’s hand and walked over to the two men at the entrance. “It is our pleasure,” he said to the priest.  Shinah nodded his head.  It was probably a miracle if Shinah could hear them, considering the two masks stacked over each of his ears and the three masks he had miraculously managed to place over his face.

          Ik-Su laughed warmly.  “And I believe I can trust you all with him.  So take care of him, if you will.”

          The trio of roommates nodded in unison.  Well, Jae-ha rolled his eyes.  He got another mask thrown to his face for that one.

* * *

 

The wind was chilling.  It haunted the group, twisting between the poles of streetlamps and preying upon every inch of bare skin it could find.  The taller members of the team—namely, Hak, and Hak alone—bore the brunt of the attack with his back.  He took the task without complaint, and even went so far as to carry his younger brother, Tae-yeon, and tuck his small body beneath the flaps of his jacket.  Yona walked ahead of Hak, but she remained close, her fingers wrapped around the palm of his hand.  (Perhaps that was why he was so silent and obedient for once).  Zeno and Lili flanked Yona, standing in the gap between Yona and Hak’s bodies, practically shielding their conjoined hands.  Lili had wrapped her neck with Zeno’s pale green scarf, but would not admit to being any colder.  Zeno skipped, more-so hopped forward, far from bothered by the chill. His clothes—tan cargo pants, a white shirt two sizes too large, with the word DRAGON printed in a blood orange color that matched his long-sleeved undershirt—flew in the breeze.  Yun marched forward, at the front of the group, his arms crossed.

           “I can’t believe we’re late!” Yun growled.  The long ponytail of his wig wafted with the wind, swaying like an angry snake.  “And all because Zeno made such a huge mess in Hak’s house!”

           “Zeno didn’t mean to!  I tripped!” Zeno protested.  He wasn’t very upset, though.  The lad worried too much, and a few broken vases weren’t much of a mess.  Besides, the one who wanted to stay behind and clean-up was Yun!  But, if the lad needed someone to be mad at, Zeno was fine with being the target.  He usually got food as compensation. Totally worth it.

           “Shut up, Yellow!  We’ve heard it already.”  Yun huffed and quickened his pace.  The rest of the group hurried to keep up.

           Tae-yeon, clinging to Hak’s neck, called out to the leader of the pack. “Please don’t be so angry, Yun-san! We’ve got plenty of time.”  Zeno glanced at Yun, waiting for his response. There were no angry words or fuming expression, only a barely noticeable drop in his shoulders.  Zeno chuckled.  Yun wouldn’t dare to snap at a child.  The lad had a kind side, after all!  It just took a cute kid for it to come out of hiding.

           When Tae-yeon pouted because Yun hadn’t answered him, Zeno stretched his arm up to pat the kid’s back.  Well, technically, he patted Hak’s wrist, because Tae-yeon was  _just_ out of reach for Zeno’s short frame.  Hak noticed and probably would’ve ruffled Zeno’s hair in return, if his hands weren’t otherwise occupied.  Hah!  Score one for Zeno!  No hair ruffling for you, mister!

           “Don’t worry, Tae-yeon.  Yun heard you,” Yona consoled.

           “Yeah, he’s just angry because you’re right,” Hak added.  He and Yona smiled at Tae-yeon, who grinned brightly back. Lili snuck her hands and mouth under Zeno’s scarf, her shoulders shaking as she snickered to herself.

           Zeno jumped as high as he could and bopped Tae-yeon’s head.  “The lad’s always mad!  Just let him complain.”

           “I can hear you all…” Yun hissed.  The rest of the group laughed.   Zeno ran up to Yun and tackled the pretend- _miko_.   He was so cute!  “What the--!”  The world swung, more than momentarily, as Yun tried to catch himself, feet crossing over each other and legs staggering to find balance.  An arm clung to Zeno’s waist, anchoring him to the stumbling lad.  Just as they were about to collide with a wall made of cemented stone, Lili appeared, catching Yun and taking the brunt of the fall.  The trio crashed, very un-magnificently, into the pavement.

           That definitely didn’t go as planned.

           “Are you okay?!” Yona yelled.  With Hak in tow, she hurried over, her purple eyes wide and frantic.  Zeno quickly rolled off Yun, but remained on his hands and knees to inspect the damage.  He could not see, nor smell, any blood coming from Lili.  Yun’s head had landed on her throat, though, so a bruise might form there later.  But, overall, she was fine, and so was Yun.

           “Crisis averted!” Zeno announced.  Yun shot up and slapped him.  Wow!  He was getting stronger.

           “Crisis not averted!” Yun screamed.  He slapped Zeno again and stood up, facing Lili.  “Are you all right?”

           “That looked like a bad fall,” Yona said.  She held out her hand for her friend, and Zeno couldn’t help but notice the trembling in her wrist.

           Lili coughed and rubbed her neck.  Slowly, she sat up, her breaths coming in a shallow fashion, and left a long pause before responding.  “I’m fine.” After another cough, she took Yona’s hand to stand up.  “Is my  _yukata_ okay?”

           Lili turned her back to Yona, their hands still conjoined.  She worried at the skin of her index finger with her teeth as Yona checked her clothes.  Yun, meanwhile, kicked Zeno’s thigh.  “Stand up, idiot,” he murmured.  Cruelly, he didn’t offer a helping hand!  Zeno would be upset, if he didn’t deserve the treatment.

           Zeno stood up and smiled as brightly as he could.  Yun rolled his eyes.  A few seconds passed before Yona proclaimed, quite cheerfully, that Lili was fine! “You have some flyaway hairs in your braid, though.”  Lili loosened her grip on Yona’s hand, but did not let go.  She reached up and patted down the stray hairs, grinning.

           Zeno chuckled beneath his breath.  They were all so cute.  “Zeno’s glad everyone’s okay!  Let’s get going!”  He reached out to take Yun’s arm, but was quickly swatted away and glared at.  Zeno laughed—the lad was so predictable! Lili, Yona, and Hak began walking forward, intent on leaving with Yona holding the hands of both the black-haired beauties.  Yun huffed and followed them.  A strong gust of wind lunged at them, taking the tails of Zeno’s pale green headband and tickling his cheeks.  He turned to face the wind, inhaling all the smells of the night—festival foods, the perfumes of various people, a stench of sweat from kids playing a little too hard, hints of gasoline discharged during the day, some flowers growing wildly or tamely along the road.  Beautiful. The night was beautiful.

           The small mob forming in front of him was worrying, however.  A teenager, who looked too much like a stereotypical nerd on television, walked up to him, steadily and nervously.  Was he the leader of the pack?

           “E-excuse me,” he stuttered out.  Zeno lifted an eyebrow, waiting.  “Is… Is your friend okay?”  He pointed over Zeno’s shoulder.  Zeno looked behind him and saw his friends.  They were getting pretty far away from him.  “The shrine maiden,” the teenager clarified.  Zeno blinked.  Was he one of Yun’s Twitter fans?

           “Yeah, everything’s just fine!” Zeno answered, turning back to the teenager. “There was a fall, but no one’s hurt!”

           “Oh, good.”  The teenager smiled anxiously and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Then, without any warning, he shouted, “Yunone!”

           Zeno twisted to face his friends.  Yun froze in his tracks.  Hak, Yona, and Lili copied him and stared at thepretend- _miko_.

           So, the lad came up with a pseudonym for himself?  That was smart.  Zeno would’ve preferred something like Aimi or Chiyo.  Those would’ve fit the lad much better!

           He didn’t have the time to think about fake names, though.  The teenager was running up to Yun.  Zeno hurried after him.  The pattering of a multitude of adult feet followed them.

           “Yunone!” the teenager shouted again.  Yun turned to him, teeth clenched as he held a shaky smile.  Something primal and protective produced within Zeno. This teen was shaping up to be trouble. By the steady frowns on Lili, Yona, and Hak’s faces, it seemed they thought the same.

           “H-hello,” Yun greeted, his voice unnaturally high pitched.

           The teenager grabbed Yun’s hands.  At the same time, Tae-yeon gripped Hak’s jacket, his eyebrows drawn down in a worry too profound for a cute kid like him.  “I-I-I-I’m a fan!” the teenager professed loudly.  Yun backed up, smiled a bit sweeter.  “No, I—…uh…I-I mean that I—” the teenager took a moment to clear his throat, “—I usually don’t go out like this!  I wasn’t going to go to the festival!”  The rest of the small mob arrived behind Zeno. They respectfully kept their distance, but their eyes shone with an admiration that was unnerving to see on so many teens and adults.  “But then I saw your Tweet, and I knew I had to come out and see you!”

           “Tweet?” Yona mumbled.  She released Lili and Hak’s hands and walked to Yun’s side.  “What are you talking about?”

           “What?!” the teenager exclaimed.  His glasses slid down his nose, but he couldn’t be bothered to remove his hands from Yun’s and adjust his spectacles.  “You get to walk with her to the festival, and you don’t even know?”

           Someone tapped Zeno’s shoulder.  He turned to the perpetrator and met eyes with a cute brunette.  Wordlessly, she handed him her cell phone.  On the screen was a post from Yona’s twitter.

Remember the [#mysterymiko](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23mysterymiko) from Friday? She will be at the [#SpringFireworksFestival](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SpringFireworksFestival)! Same shrine!(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) Let us go see Yunone!!

           Zeno wasn’t sure what he was looking at.  For one thing, Yona  _never_ typed with such good grammar.  For another thing, the picture attached to the Tweet was obviously a selfie Yun had taken in his  _miko_  attire.  One more thing, Yun (or Yunone) was throwing up a peace sign and smiling demurely in the picture—not even in the wildest of Zeno’s dreams did Yun appear so girly and loveable.

           Was this Hell?  Did he fall into a pothole and arrive in an alternate dimension?  Was he going to turn into a Yellow Dragon like his last name, Ouryuu, suggested?  Or was he asleep and he had eaten too much food before going to bed, so he was having a weird dream?  Because no matter where he was, mentally or physically, that tweet couldn’t be real.

           He needed a second opinion.

           “Miss!” he called.  When Yona looked up, he waved his hand, and she came over to him.  “Look at this.”  Zeno handed the brunette’s phone to Yona.  Obediently, she read through the Tweet and scrolled down to view the photo of Yun.

           “…Is this a dream?” Yona eventually asked.

           “Zeno was thinking the same thing!” he announced.  “But we can’t be having the same dream, could we?”  Yona shrugged and returned the phone to the brunette. “Ah, wait!  Did we eat the mister’s food again?”

           Yona looked over to Hak, who raised his eyebrows in response.  “Hmmm… No.  I remember eating Lili’s cooking for dinner.  Hak’s been banned from the kitchen.”

           “Then how does such a strange Tweet exist?” Zeno demanded.

           “I…” Yun interjected, his voice still high-pitched.  “I may have used Yona’s Twitter to announce that I’d be at the festival.  I don’t have my own yet, but since so many people liked me, I thought I should let them know!”  The pretend- _miko_ giggled innocently. From what Zeno knew about Yun, his answer could easily translate into: I used my friend’s Twitter without permission for the sake of publicity.  I regret it. I regret it a lot.

           “And we thank you for that!” the teenager eagerly replied, stepping forward as Yun politely stepped back.  “I was hoping to see you again!”  Some people from the mob began to approach Yun and the teenager.  Zeno and Yona rushed to Yun’s side.  Lili joined them while Hak and Tae-yeon remained on the sidelines.  “I… I think you’re really cute!  If y-you wouldn’t mind… would you do me the favor of going on a date?”

           In that moment, Zeno decided that Yun’s plan was too effective.  If it could cause several people to forget how to breathe or how to speak, then Yun’s genius had gone  _too far_.  In fact, Zeno thought he might have to stop the lad from making a plan ever again. Human lives were at stake.

           “It doesn’t have to be more than one date!  Just one i-is fine by me!  Y-y-you’re so pretty!  And so nice! I’ll pay for everything! S-so…um…” the teenager continued to babble.  That primal, protective feeling returned to Zeno’s gut.  Yun was obviously uncomfortable.  His smile was so kind.  And his posture was so relaxed.  He honestly appeared as a lovely young girl, who cared about the stuttering boy holding her hands and wasn’t bothered at all.  Completely uncomfortable!

           …Okay, actually, he seemed to be taking the situation just fine, as if he had expected everything that was happening.  Which he probably did.  The lad was a genius, after all.  But the teen was asking for too much!  He barely knew Yun!  And if anyone wanted to date Zeno’s friends, they had to go through Zeno first!

           Zeno began walking toward the lad, resolved to put some space between Yun and the teenager.  But he was defeated, as a bunch of people came up behind the teen and began speaking.

           “No fair.  I was gonna ask her on a date, too!” one boy said.

           “Stop hogging her!  I want to take some pictures!” a girl proclaimed.

           The people began to squabble among each other.  Some of them spoke over the others, asking ridiculous things of Yun, as if he was a mere plaything.  Zeno huffed and put his hands on his hips.  The lad couldn’t possibly be okay with this kind of treatment!  Zeno had to do something for him!

           “Hey, kiddo!” Zeno exclaimed.  Everyone turned to look at him.  The teenager’s grasp of Yun’s hands relaxed, just a bit.  Perfect.  “You look cold.”

           The teenager tilted his head.  “I’m fine. It’s not that col—”  He was interrupted by a certain, very friendly, Zeno tackling him.  Together, they fell down, and Yun was set free.  What a beautiful story!  It deserved five stars and Zeno receiving the yummiest food Yun could cook.

           But the story wasn’t over yet.

           “Lad!”  Zeno shouted. Yun stared at him, dumbstruck. “Run!  Run for your life!”

           Yun frowned and crossed his arms.  “What are you do—”

           “Don’t question Zeno and save yourself!!!!”

           The lad sighed.  Zeno looked up at him with the best puppy dog eyes he could manage—which was a pretty damn good attempt, he had years of practice!  Yun’s pale green eyes scanned his surroundings.  Then he transformed, near imperceptibly, into the demure shrine maiden persona, crossed arms turning into hands folded over his stomach and hunched shoulders shifting into relaxation.  Not much else changed physically, but there was something in his aura that emanated every outdated female ideal.  Graceful and gracious, adoring and adorable.  The lad had, somehow, become the very person everyone could love with ease.

           Yeah, Yun’s plans were definitely too effective.

           “I’m fine, Zeno,” the lad said, his voice practically a song.  He crouched down and giggled.  “But thank you.  I’ll see you at the festival!”  With that said, Yun stood up and swiftly walked away.  After a few seconds of silent confusion, as well as an absolute daze, Yona and Hak followed the pretend- _miko_.  Tae-yeon kindly waved goodbye while Lili quickly returned Zeno’s scarf.

           Left behind by his friends, Zeno came to know the strangest of loneliness. Not because he was alone with a group of strangers—that was planned!  But because, in the absence of Yunone, it was as though half his heart had failed.  Zeno made a mental note to never involve himself in Yun’s plans again, especially if they involved Yunone.  The lad was too powerful as a girl.   _Way_ too powerful.

* * *

 

Yun had been expecting the small mob of fans. He had been expecting one or a few boys to ask him on a date, maybe even a marriage proposal.  He had been expecting his friends to find out about the announcement he had posted on Yona’s Twitter (though he had been hoping Yona would have noticed it before any follower brought it up).  From the moment he had become a trending tag on Twitter just two days prior to the festival, he had known ridiculous things would happen when he put on the  _miko_ attire again.

           What he hadn’t expected, however, was how all of his friends had decided to pitch in.  Even when they gave him weird looks for his pseudonym of choice (Yunone wasn’t  _that_ weird of a name, okay?!), or broke vases ( _Zeno_ ), or were still goofing off at the festival entrance (he wasn’t sure why Kija was fighting with Jae-ha, or why Shinah had at least ten masks on), he was still so grateful for their help.  He wasn’t even all that mad when he realized that Kija wasn’t at his post, selling shrine merchandise as he had promised to do, or that so many people had arrived at the festival before him!  After barking some orders and struggling to escape Ik-Su’s hug, he was finally,  _finally_ , ready to put the final phase of his plan into action.

           He was nervous, of course.  That was only natural.  He, Yona, and Lili had practiced the dance all day, beginning before sunrise—much to Yona’s chagrin—and ending at the first signs of dusk.  Nearly twelve hours of repeated moves was not enough to ingrain every step, every flick of the wrist, every cue, into his or the girls' heads. It was the best they could do on short notice, he was aware of that.  But Yona had two left feet, something neither he nor Lili could easily cover up during the performance.  What’s more, for the three musicians he had—Jae-ha, Shinah, and some friend of Gigan’s—this was their first time seeing the music score.  Jae-ha had assured him, again and again, that there would be no problem with the music.  He and Gigan’s friend were well-versed in reading the notes, and since Shinah was playing the  _taiko_ , an instrument to be used purely for rhythm in the song, the otherwise music-ignorant boy could perform without issue.  The chances of anything wrong occurring were low.

           But as Yun watched the girls re-apply their make-up in Lili’s tiny, portable hand-mirror, and noticed Jae-ha and Gigan’s friend comparing scores, he could only find doubt.  So much was riding on this plan.  College. His pride.  All the time his friends had taken from their holiday to help him.  One wrong move, and every bit of effort could go to waste.  Yun’s stomach churned.  Every inhale he took was weighted, like his lungs were firemen and the air was their sense of duty.  He could do this.  He knew he could.  The most reliable person he knew was himself.  But everyone else?  He wasn’t so sure.  He couldn’t trust their capabilities.  With so many people a part of one plan, some sort of disaster was inevitable.

           He bit the skin of his thumb.  He needed to calm down.

           “Yun…” Shinah muttered.  He walked up, head ducked to hide his amber eyes.  In his hands was a festival mask, one that was a lot like the three stacked on each of Shinah’s ears and the four miraculously piled atop his scalp.  “For you…”

           The ghost of a laugh escaped Yun.  It was so like Shinah to offer anything he had in an attempt at comfort. It was an act so honest and so innocent that it always caught someone off guard, particularly because it came from such an expressionless guy.  Peculiar, but welcomed, warmth spread from Yun’s heart.  It didn’t dissipate his doubt, but it certainly shushed his worries.

           “Thanks, Shinah,” he said as he accepted the mask.  “I can’t wear this during the performance, but I’ll make sure to put it on when I’m done.”

           Shinah bobbed his head.  He returned to Jae-ha’s side, and Yun hurried to Lili and Yona’s.

           “Are you two ready?” he asked.  The girls turned to him and grinned.  In the inviting orange glow of the paper lanterns they appeared as goddesses whose beauty could rival his.

           “Ready as we can be,” Lili answered.  She dropped the mirror into her clutch purse and placed it down upon a small table one of the vendors had brought for them.  Yun put his mask beside her purse and picked up four fans. Long, yellow and red tassels hung from the guards of Yona and Lili’s otherwise plain fans.  They received the fans dutifully and held them at shoulder level, careful to not let the tassels touch the ground.  The other two fans were Yun’s, and the bases of the leaves were a bright red that faded into a luminous white.  He tucked one of them into his sleeve, holding it there as discreetly as he could.

           “Then let’s do our best,” Yun replied.  He looked at the girls, watching for fault or doubt, but he only received self-assured smiles in response.  He sighed out the last of his nerves.  He could do this.  They could do this.

           Pride and confidence at his heels, Yun approached the side-steps to the stage. Lili came up behind him, with Yona standing behind her.  A few deep inhales and prolonged exhales later, Yun snapped his fingers.  Jae-ha strummed his  _koto_  methodologically, plucking each string rapidly, yet perfectly.  The trio of dancers walked up the steps and onto the stage, Yun taking downstage center, Lili to his right, Yona to his left. Along the borders were paper lanterns, lit so bright that Yun could only see the shadows of the crowd’s many faces. In that moment, the breath in his lungs was not his own, but theirs—each and every person who had come to support his dreams.  As Shinah began to beat the  _taiko_ with his palms, and as the girls took two steps back, Yun began to know the beauty of mutual triumph.

           He and the girls slid one foot back, and bent their knees.  Holding the fans horizontally at chest level, they slowly spread open the leaf, their fingers like feathers against the tip of the thin paper.  The  _shinobue_ entered the song, a beautiful bird’s whistle to their ears as they bowed their heads and raised their arms, their hands and fans signals as they were brought up and then slowly down in a circle.  When their fans and their hands met again in front of their thighs, they carefully returned the fans to chest level, lifting their heads in time with their arms.

           With a flick of the wrist, they held up their fans vertically with one hand, allowing their other arm to disappear at their sides.  They waved the fans down to their knees then up above their heads, unbending their knees and taking a step back, then swaying to the right, their eyes following the colorful, thin paper leaves.  They began to walk forward, flipping their fans with each step—once—twice—then took two quick steps back as the fans flew down and to their rights, then up to their lefts and down to their lefts, then up and down to their rights.  They turned to the side, their fans magnificently flowing to their lefts again, first down below their knees, but then up, risen to their eye-levels like food offered to a king.

           They held the position for merely a second before Yona and Lili brought their fans over their shoulders, flapping their fans like birds taking flight as they circled Yun, their steps quick and small, switching spots.  Meanwhile Yun swung his fan like a wrecking ball, hard and fast, as low as his ankles then as high as his chest, as if he was scooping up water from the stream, before dumping the water as he flipped his fan and held up his free arm, straight as a ruler, and fluttered his fan down like a bird landing to his waist level, then, in one swift move, he bent his knees and brought his hand and his fan to his knees, the fan over the hand like there was a secret in those free fingers.  Yona and Lili knelt down, facing Yun with their fans held reverently above their laps.

           The music lulled.  In the silence, Yun brought the fan over his head and swiped it down and around his shoulder, as though he were cutting something.  The  _shinobue_ returned, softer and more melodic, as if he were sending a man out to sea, while Yona and Lili stood again, the tassels swaying with the movement.  Shinah drummed the  _taiko_ with his fingers, beating it rhythmically yet impatiently.  Yun swung his fan again, like a sharp gust of wind down to his left then flirtatiously over his hip to the right.  He spun around, taking steps backward while Yona and Lili rushed forward.  As he finished the spin and held out the fan low and subserviently, like an offering to the poor, the  _shinobue_ and  _taiko_  halted, soon to be taken over by the dulcet  _koto_.  Facing the crowd, Lili and Yona held their fans horizontally at chest level, the tassels just barely swaying as they closed the fans, and carefully, oh-so carefully, kneeled down, with one arm held straight out to the side.  They arced the closed fans down, the tassels sweeping the stage floor as they raised the fans until they were perfectly at level with their stretched out arm.  They brought the fans to their hands and remained kneeling.

           The  _koto_ picked up pace and the  _shinobue_ and  _taiko_ rejoined.  Yun cupped his cheek with his palm, holding his opened fan beneath his elbow.  He spun around on one foot before dropping his hand from his face and bringing the fan out to the side, slanting it so the colors shone in the light of the paper lanterns.  When the notes of the  _koto_ flowed like a small waterfall, he delicately cut through the air and covered his face, almost flirtatiously, with his fan.  Yona and Lili reopened their fans and placed a hand on their knees. Like a seagull swooping down to catch its prey, they flew their fans over their sides and then above their heads. Like oars of a boat, they then flapped their fans down their sides, Yona down her right, Lili down her left, alternating between those moves one, two, three, four times, standing on the third alteration.  Meanwhile Yun, holding out his arm, uncovered his face and swung his fan like a pendulum over his thighs and then up to his arm, pulling on a small smile as the guard aligned with his cheek.  Quickly the three dancers pulled themselves into a small circle, fans elevated like they were making a sacred pact.  A prolonged high note from the  _shinobue_ cued them to rotate the circle until Yun stood at front and center.  The rapid banging from the  _taiko_ , pattering like heavy raindrops, brought out the second fan from Yun’s sleeve.

           He turned around, displaying the fans with all the confidence of a conqueror.  Yona and Lili quickly put space between themselves and Yun, holding their fans vertically and open above their chests.  Yun stretched out his arms, bringing his fans with him and pointing the leaves inward towards him, while Yona and Lili swung their fans down to their knees then up and over their arms.  Yun pulled his hands together, the rivets of his fans meeting and displaying the colorful leaves like the wings of a butterfly, then brought those leaves together briefly before parting them, drawing one fan high and above his face while the other was held out to the side.  Yona and Lili spun, fans flying with them, over their heads then down to their waists, then crossed over their hips then down to their waists again, before they spun around once more and held out their fans above their faces. Yun brought the rivets of his fans together again as he spun them down and then around and _repeat_ , until he kneeled down with one fan tucked over the other like the waiting, open beak of a bird. Yona and Lili faced each other, displaying their fans like gifts.  Yun shifted to sit on both his knees, confronting the crowd, and pulled his fans apart, curving them in a large circle until they met again, leaf next to leaf. Quickly he hooked a finger between sticks of the fans and began to twirl them around and around and around, turning the beautiful fans into swinging balls of fire as he slowly stood as Yona and Lili slowly knelt down and bowed their heads in respect.  Still twirling, he turned his back to the audience and finally halted the spins.  The song played out into its final lines as he held the rivets together one final time, recreating the butterfly wings, and displayed his fans high over his head, like an offering to the gods.

           Air left his lungs as he stared up at the fans, glowing in the orange light of the paper lanterns and in the glory of his victory.  He did.  They did it. Just a few more steps and the dance would be over.  His plan would be a success.  Even if Ik-Su didn’t manage to encourage many donations, Yun was sure his announcement about the “charity” (his college fund) after the dance would bring in plenty of money. He took a deep breath, tears brimming in his eyes, and rotated to the audience, preparing for his next trick.

           But he, Yona, and Lili were no longer the only ones onstage.  The bespectacled teenager from earlier knocked over paper lanterns as he climbed up, his smile wide and his glasses askew. Much to Yun’s horror, the teenager approached him.  He was soon followed by other boys and girls, all of whom were apparently unhindered by any concept of respect.

           Out of all the things Yun had expected, he hadn’t been expecting  _this_.  His plan was apparently too effective.  He was starting to regret everything.

           “Yu…Yunone…” the glasses teen mumbled.  His cheeks were red and his eyes were glazed over, as though he was half-asleep and drunk. A trance.  He was in a trance.  A scary trance, at that.  “I wanted to hear your answer about the date… Your friend—”

           The glasses teen was shoved aside by some punk with stupid, spiked hair. “Hey, come on, you got to talk to her earlier!  Let someone else have the fun!”  The punk grinned with bad intentions.  Yun noticed that in the growing crowd, more and more people were staring at him with eyes like a hawk’s.  Nothing good was going to come from this interaction.  In fact, if he allowed any of these crazy people to talk to him, he might get abducted by the end of the night.

           Yun searched around frantically for an escape route.  The steps were free, but there were so many people standing beside them.  If he ran, they would most likely catch him.  The rest of the stage was crowded.  Shit.   _Shit_.  There was no way out!

           But as the punk came up to him, clammy hands reaching over for him, a miracle happened.  A miracle by the name of Yona.  She shoved the punk away with her shoulder, eyes burning with a fury brighter than any sun.

           “Run!  Yun!” she roared.  Without a second to waste, he obeyed her, dropping his fans and rushing down the steps with his life on the line.  As he ran he noticed Jae-ha and Shinah stand up, ready for a fight, while someone in the mob announced that Yunone was fleeing.

           He chuckled to himself.  The shrine was his home.  He knew every turn in the land, where to go when he wanted to hide, and the quickest method of escape in case of an emergency.  It was a little sad that he wouldn’t be able to announce the charity as Yunone, but his personal safety came first.  Jumping over a few shrubs, he landed in his vegetable garden, positioned at the very back of Ik-Su’s shrine.  Catching his breath, he began to walk towards the entrance.

           But then he heard rustling coming from the shrubs and bushes surrounding his garden, quickly succeeded by the  _thumps_ of at least four bodies hitting the ground.  He checked behind him and, sure enough, there were four people in his vegetable garden.  He didn’t recognize a single one of them.  It was official—his plan had worked way too well.  What a pain.

           “Please leave me alone!” he shouted in his girl voice.  Yun ran into the shrine, slamming the door behind him as he hurried through the old, wooden halls, rushing around corners and dodging through rooms.  There were fences on each side of the house, so taking the exits there wouldn’t be smart. There was only a bush blocking off the rear end of the shrine from the street, but Yun had a feeling more of his newfound stalkers would be there.  The only available option, besides hiding in the shrine until someone found him, was the front entrance, where the rest of the festival was. While hiding seemed like a reasonable option, it was inevitable that one of his stalkers would find him before one of his friends did.  So, the front entrance it was.

           The festival was crowded.  He noticed some people in the throng searching for something—probably him—but, overall, there were families and friends and dates having fun, visiting booths, and eating without care for a runaway shrine maiden.  Some girls who were at the offering box stared at him, their hands still clapped in prayer.  He waved at them, hoping silently they didn’t know who he was, and rushed down the steps. He surveyed the layout, planning his best route of escape.  The booths were the best places to hide, but he would have to fight the crowd.  A problem, considering his small, unimpressive frame.

           “Yun!” a familiar voice called.  He turned and spotted Hak.  Problem solved.  Sure, he was plenty angry that Hak had abandoned his post, but he could definitely forgive the Thunder Beast if he could help him out of this mess.

           Yun wasted no time in grabbing Hak’s sleeve.  “Come on, Thunder Beast.  I need you to cut through the crowd for me.”

           Hak nodded.  Sure enough, his overly-bulky frame was perfect for pushing aside even the most stubborn of people.  In almost no time at all, they were able to find a space between two booths that was just large enough for Yun to hide in.  Without delay, he scampered into the spot, quickly removing his wig and allowing his scalp to breathe.  He sighed and stared up at the starless sky.  The night would be over soon enough.  All the work his and his friends had put in for his plan—it would be finished.

           The question was, though, if it was worth it?  If screaming at Ik-Su for a problem which barely existed, having to apologize to so many people, having to run away from a mob—was it worth it?

           “Hey.”  Yun looked in the direction of the voice.  Hak stood at the entrance to the gap, his large body blocking all the lights from the festival.

           Yun frowned.  “What are you doing, Thunder Beast?!  If you stand there, someone’s going to notice!  You look weird!”  He threw his wig at Hak, but the jerk caught it.

           “Calm down.  You don’t want to be caught, do you?” Hak asked, a sly smirk on his stupid lips. Yun rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, smart enough to listen to the advice, but petulant enough to ignore any form of gratitude.

           “Shut up.  If you want to guard me, then send over Jae-ha or Shinah.  They don’t have jobs like you do.”

           Hak threw the wig back to Yun.  “Fine. I will.  But first you have to stop looking so gloomy.”

           Yun threw him a glare.  “I’m not gloomy!”

           Hak gave him an unimpressed look.  “You’re plenty gloomy.  Did the stalkers really scare you that much?”

           Just a bit.  “No!” Yun lied.  Though, honestly, he was more afraid of the plan ultimately failing.  That hard work couldn’t go to waste, but with that mob of crazy people, Yun had the feeling it would.

           Hak sighed.  “Listen. Yona wouldn’t have volunteered if she had been worried about the consequences.  None of us would have.  One way or another, we’re committed to helping you.  So stop frowning and let us take care of things from here.”

           Yun stared at Hak, who returned the gaze with a confident smile.  He had good friends.  The absolute best of friends.  He, really and truly, needed to stop distrusting them and their motivations. They were all, in one quirky way or another, too amazing for his doubt.  “…Okay,” he replied, putting on the best smile he could muster.

* * *

 

In the end, the festival was a success. People, for the most part, trickled out and walked home with smiles on their faces, brighter than any light. Even as the night stretched into the terribly early hours of the morning, the vendors and Yun’s friends worked happily to bring down the decorations and clean up.  Yun himself worked twice as hard as anyone else, hurrying the process as best he could.  It wasn’t until just past two o’clock in the morning, though, that all the work was finished.

           “You can all spend the night, if you wish,” Ik-Su offered to Yun’s friends when they all gathered at the festival’s entrance.

           Yona shook her head.  “Don’t worry,” she whispered, careful to not wake Tae-yeon, who was fast asleep on her shoulder.  “Our homes aren’t far.”

           “These kinds of things are what coffee was made for,” Jae-ha added.  His two roommates clung to his arms—Kija because he was barely awake, Shinah because he could barely see with the five masks on his face.

           “I’ll make sure they all get home safe,” Hak promised, right before he yawned.

           “You guys should have gone with Lili when her dad picked her up.  At least he had a car,” Yun reprimanded.  His cheeks puffed and Ik-Su chuckled to himself. Yun was so adorable when he was worried.

           “The trains are open late because of the festival.  If we hurry, we should be fine,” Zeno reminded.  Lazily, he patted Yona’s head, probably because he couldn’t be bothered to take a step and pat Yun’s head instead.

           Ik-Su hummed.  Yun had such wonderful friends.  “Take care, then.”  He bowed to the group, who returned the gesture.  With various levels of languid waves, the group walked away.

           When they were officially out of sight, Ik-Su reached out his hand and petted Yun’s hair.  His adopted son leaned into the touch, then leaned further into his body.  Yun’s head collided with Ik-Su’s chest, and neither of them would bother to change it.

           “I’m tired…” Yun mumbled into Ik-Su’s robe.  “I don’t think I’ll go to school tomorrow…”

           Ik-Su smiled down at the precious boy.  He continued petting his hair, smoothing down the flyaway strands.  “I’m fine with that.  Get some rest, Yun.”

           He groaned in response.  Ik-Su laughed.  He patted Yun’s back, prompting his adopted son to remove his face from his chest and begin walking to the shrine.  Ik-Su followed him, fingers on the small of his back, softly pushing him forward. When they entered their small home, Yun yawned and whispered, “I have good friends…”

           Joy filled Ik-Su’s heart as he leaned down to kiss the crown of Yun’s head. “You do.  You really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We did it, motherfuckers. We finally did it. Two weeks of work has turned into this ridiculously long final chapter to finish off about two months of work on one fanfiction. I love it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me by commenting, reblogging, liking, or leaving kudos on this work!!!! I love each and every one of you!!!!! I hope to continue seeing you guys in my future fics!
> 
> If you have any critiques or comments, or if you spot any mistakes I’ve made, please feel free to let me know! Hearing from you honestly makes my day. <3

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this was a little shitty. v.v;; I kinda sped-wrote it within 2 days so I wouldn't leave a large gap of time between posting headcanons for the AU on tumblr ( http://mcgrillzheadcanons.tumblr.com/ ) & presenting this fic. Especially after fanart popped up hahaha.............................
> 
> so, yeah, this is probably going to become a series. I'm working on a sequel already for Yun crossdressing. Here's hoping I can keep the motivation!


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